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DEPARTMENT OF ARCILEOLOGY 

Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts. 



A REPORT ON THE 



ARCHEOLOGY OF MAINE 



BEING A NARRATIVE OF EXPLORATIONS IX THAT STATE 

1912-1920 

TOGETHER WITH WORK AT LAKE CHAMPLAIN 

191? 



BY 

WARREN K. MOOREHEAD 

Field Director. Akui.vkological Survey 
of New England 



1922 
TI1K ANDOVEB PRESS 

WDOVKK, M \ss. 



■ Mr 



Copyright 1922 
By Phillips Academy 



JIM 13 B» 

©CU6T4390 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



Page 
PART I 

Preface .... 9 

General Account of Expeditions ' 12 

PART II 

THE RED PAINT PEOPLE 

Descriptions of Explorations. — Cemeteries 20 

Bucksport, 1912 20 

Orland, 1912 21 

Hartfords Cemetery, 1912 23 

Lake Alamoosook, 1912 33 

The Emerson Cemetery, 1912 34 

The Mason Cemetery, 1912 42 

Passadumkeag. August 1912 50 

Hatha way's Cemetery, 1912 50 

Blue Hill-Haskell's Cemetery, 1913 67 

Sullivan Falls Cemetery, 1913 76 

Georges River, 1915 86 

Hart's Falls Cemetery, 1915 86 

Tarr Cemetery, 1915 87 

Stevens Cemetery, 1915 87 

Oldtown — Godfrey's Cemetery, 1918 93 

Winslow — The Lancaster Cemetery, 1919 95 

Oakland — Wentworth's Cemetery, 1920 191 

Detailed Study of Objects ' 1 92 

Alamoosook Unit 193 

The Ellsworth Unit H* 

The Bangor Unit H5 

The St. George River Unit 1*1 

The Kennebec Unit 1** 

Review and Conclusions l^ 5 

Indian Village Site near Bangor !•" 

Cremation Pits l'' J 

Objects Found in Cremation Pits **" 

Red Paint Graves 1**9 

Objects Found in Red Paint Graves "I 

Red Paint People and Algonkins 1™ 

Modern Indian Burial at Sargentville l 1 *^ 

The Red Paint People and the Shell Heaps 1*9 

The Beothuk Theory 1^9 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



PART III 
THE SHELL HEAPS OF MAINE 

A. Explorations 

Frenchman's Bay .... 
Sullivan Falls Shell Heap 
Calf Island Shell Heap 
Stovers Shell Heap . 
Boynton's Shell Heap 

Castine 

Wheeler's Cove Shell Heap 
Von Mach's Shell Heap 

B. Material from the Shell Heaps 

Ground Stone 
Chipped Stone . 
Pottery .... 
Bones .... 
Bone Implements 

Teeth of Animals 

Large Bones 

Bone Handles 

Awls and Needles 

Harpoons . 

C. Conclusions . 

PART IV 

INTERIOR VILLAGE SITES AND OTHER REMAIN 

The Sebago Region 

The Androscoggin Region 

The Kennebec Valley 

Moosehead Lake . 

The Penobscot Waters . 

Olamon Stream 

Passadumkeag 

The Piscataquis . 

Lake Sebec Region 

The Mattawamkeac; River 

PlTTSTON 

The St. John Valley . 

The St. Choix Waters . 

Bast Machias .... 

The Damariscotta Region 

The Lvke Champiain Survey ok 1917 

PART V 

Concluding Remarks 

Roster of Men Who Served on the Several Expeditions 

Bibliography 

Index 



152 
154 
156 
158 
162 
16.'} 
166 
168 
169 
177 
181 
182 
186 
189 
191 
192 
192 
19f? 
193 
199 
199 



210 
212 
213 
21.5 
219 
220 
221 
222 
223 
224 
228 
230 
236 
238 
2.'5S 
241 

252 
263 
265 

269 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



Fig. 1 View of the Narramissic River near Orland, Maine. 

2 Camp scene, season of 1913. 

" 3 Grave 2, Hartford 'sv Cemetery. 

" 4 Grave 3, Hartford's Cemetery. 

5 Close view of a grave at Hartford's. Scale about 1-6. 

" 6 Interior of Captain Hartford's barn after the graves had been examined. 

" 7 Grave 18, Hartford's Cemetery. 

8 Grave 31, Hartford's Cemetery. A few objects under the bank are not seen. 

9 Grave containing large gouges and adze blades, Hartford's Cemetery. 

10 Types of square-edged hatchets and small edged tools; also some plummets and chipped 
objects. Emerson and Hartford Sites. 

" 11 Elevation on which Emerson Cemetery wa? located. 

" 12 Finding the first grave at Emerson's. 

13 View of Lake Alamoosook. Staking off the Emerson site. 

" 14 The trench begun at Emerson's. 

15 Grave 74, Emerson's. 

16 Two large gouges from Hartford's and Hathaway's. 

" 17 Two specialized gouges from Hathaway's and Hartford's. 

" 18 Cross section of two graves in the gravel pit north of Hartford's. 

19 Four gouges. 

" 20 Three gouges from Mason, Emerson and Hartford sites. 

" 21 Grave 64 at the Emerson site. 

22 Grave 62, the Emerson site. 

" 23 A burial beside a rock. Grave 61. The Emerson site. 

" 24 The long spear in position at Emerson's. 

" 25 Grave 90, the Emerson site. 

" 26 Grave 101, the Emerson site. 

" 27 Problematical forms from Hartford and Mason sites. 

28 The fragment of human femur and the two cylinders from graves 116 and 117 at Mason's. 

" 29 The outcrop of powdered hematite at Katahdin Iron Works. 

" 30 The knoll on which Hathaway's cemetery was located. 

" 31 Grave 142 at the Hathaway site. 

" 32 Grave 143 at the Hathaway site. 

" 33 Grave 141 at the Hathaway site. 

" 34 A grave partially uncovered at Hathaway's. 

" 35 The long, perforated objects from Hathaway's. 

36 A grave at the Hathaway site. 

" 37 The bear effigy from the Haskell site. 

38 Group of broken slate spears from grave 1 67, Haskell's site. 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



Fig 39 Group of effigies from various cemeteries. 

« 40 The eight loug spears from grave 163, in position as Mr. Sugden found them. Haskell s 

site. 

" 41 The gouge — adze blades from Emerson's; also two other fine objects. 

" 42 Eight objects from various sites. 

43 The large ash pit at Sullivan Falls. 

" 44 Grave 214 at Stevens' cemetery. This was surrounded by large boulders. 

'< 45 Working under difficulties. The saw-mill at Lancaster's. Most of the graves lay beneath 

these timbers. 

46 The long, slate spears from Lancaster's Cemetery, grave 329. 

47 Large adze blade, Lancaster's Cemetery, grave 326. 

" 48 Projectile points of the clear quartzite or Labrador stone, from various Red Paint Cemeteries. 

49 Large knife and projectile from various Red Paint Cemeteries. 

" 50 The knobbed gouge from Emerson's and a small gouge from Stevens' cemetery. 

51 Profile of hump-backed adze blades from Haskell's and Emerson's. 

52 Types of plummets from the various cemeteries. 

" 53 Two large plummets, one perforated at the base. The one to the right from Stevens', the 
left one from Hartford's. 

54 Six various objects from the graves. 

55 Three small, thin, sandstone ornaments and long needle-shaped object. 
" 56 Four long slate spears. 

" 57 Nine smaller slate projectile points. 

58 Specialized, slate spear points, a crescent and problematical form. 

59 Specialized plummets from the several cemeteries. 

60 Full sized drawing showing the lines cut on the plummet from Haskell's site. 
" 61 Two flaring gouges, and specialized gouge from Hathaway's cemetery. 

" 62 Two long dagger-like objects. One from Hart's Falls site and the other from Holway's. (Or- 

land.) 

" 63 Four problematical forms from various cemeteries. 

64 Cross section of terrace on which Mr. Smith found a village site and comet try. 

65 Face and side view of long chipped, drill-like object. 

66 Blades from the site above Bangor (Mr. Smith). 

67 Ground Plan of graves and fire pits, site above Bangor. 

68 Cross Section through cremation pit and Red Paint People grave, Bangor site. 
" 69 Remains of fire-making outfits, site above Bangor. 

70 The four forms of plummets from the Red Paint People graves. 

71 The men at work trenching the Calf Island Shell Heap. 

72 Cross Section of Boynton's shell heap. 
" 73 Boynton's shell heap and the trenches. 
" 74 The masses of shells at Boynton's. 

75 Teeth of various animals. The beaver teeth have been artificially sharpened and used as 

chisels. 

76 Wheeler's shell heap at Castine. 

77 Ground plan of pits in Wheeler's shell heap, Castine. 
" 78 Cross section of Von Mach's shell heap, Castine. 

79 Fragments of decorated pottery from Von Mach's shell heap. 

" 80 Fragments of decorated pottery from Von Mach's shell heap 



LIST OF I L L U S T R A T IONS 7 

Fig. 81 Three large stone celts, Boynton's shell heap. 

" 82 Small stone celts from Stover's, Wardwell's and Boynton's. 

83 Celts of the smallest forms from Sullivan Falls, Boynton and Stover shell heaps. 

" 84 Large tools for grinding and polishing. Stover's site. 

" 85 Series of hammer stones from Boynton's shell heap. 

" 86 The split human tibiae and ornaments from the shell heaps. 

87 Oval or primary forms in chipped tools from the shell heaps. 

" 88 Eleven finished and unfinished knife forms from shell heaps. 

89 The type of knives most common in shell heaps. These are a trifle larger than most of our 

finds, yet the forms are identical with these. 

90 Above, slender knifes; below broad knives from Von Mach's shell heap. More of these 

forms were found at Von Mach's than elsewhere. 

91 Short knife, elongated scraper and one of the heavy flake knives. Boynton's shell heap. 

92 Specialized knives from Boynton's and Von Mach's shell heaps. Not many of these types 

occur. 
" 93 A series of scrapers. Calf Island, Stover's, Boynton's and Butler's heaps. 
" 94 Small, slender knives and triangular arrow-points from the shell heaps. 
" 95 Typical arrow-points and spear-heads from the shell heaps. 

96 Five hafted, chipped objects from Boynton's, Butler's, and Von Mach's. Usually the forms 

from shell heaps are more simple than this. 
" 97 Antler-ends, worked into implements. Butler's, Hodgkins', Boynton's sites. 
" 98 Bone handles for tools. Some may be flaking tools. Boynton's. 
" 99 Two large awls, two bone handles, broken harpoon, two heavy bones deeply incised, (many of 

these have been found.) Natives seem to have made their harpoons and arrow-points 

from heavy bones of the moose, deer and caribou. 
" 100 Typical arrow-points and fish hooks of which several thousand have been found. From shell 

heaps. 
" 101 Series of awls or perforators. 

" 102 Series of harpoons, from Boynton's, Butler's, Von Mach's and Stover's shell heaps. 
" 103 Series of harpoons, from Boynton's, Butler's, Von Mach's and Stover's shell heaps. 
" 104 The largest harpoons, some of which are perforated. 
" 105 Specialized objects. A large spearhead of bone with incised lines or decorations. Itisl2'-_> 

centimeters in length. A small object of bone — projectile point. These are the only two 

bone spearheads found in the shell heaps. A decorated bone is shown at the top. The 

others may be specialized harpoons. 
" 106 Two bone handles, three broken pipes and an unknown object in the center. 
" 107 A thin stone slab, smooth and slightly hollowed out. 
" 108 Gouges and a problematical form from the Rollins site. 
" 109 Polished slate knife from Panther Pond, Sebago region. 
" 110 Mount Kineo. 
" 111 Ash pit at Shad Pond. 

" 112 Leaf shaped implement and unfinished blade. 
" 113 Three unfinished objects of felsite. 

" 114 Dragging the canoes up the North Branch of the West Branch, Penobscot. 
" 115 A beaver house and dam on the upper St. John. 
" 116 Long, pointed object and ornament. 
" 117 Running the rapids below Shad Pond, West Branch Penobscot river. 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 

Fig. 118 Tube and plug from Swanton grave. 

" 1 19 A Swanton tube in the Smithsonian collection. 

" 120 Specimens from University of Vermont collections. 

" 121 A peculiar problematical form. 

" 122 Types of Algonkian axes from Maine. 

" 123 Types of grooved cutting tools from Maine. 



LIST OF MAPS AND PLANS 

I. Outline map of Maine showing routes of expeditions. 

II. Plan of Hartford's Cemetery, Orland. 

III. Plan of Lake Alamoosook. Orland. 

IV. Plan of Emerson's Cemetery, Orland. 
V. Plan of Mason's Cemetery, Orland. 

VI. Plan of Hathaway's Cemetery, Passadumkeag. 

VII. Location of cemetery and shell heaps at Sullivan Falls. 

VIII. Ground plan of graves, Stevens's Cemetery and Cross sections of Stevens's Cemetery. 

IX. Ground plan of Lancaster's Cemetery, Winslow. 

X. Outline map showing sites about Frenchman's Bay, Hancock County. 

XL Outline map of the lower part of Hancock County. 

XII. Shell heaps near Eggemoggin Reach. 

XIII. Map of Sebago Lake. 

XIV. Outline map of Kennebec County (Waterville, el 
XV. Sites in lower part of Penobscot County. 

XVI. Shop sites at Pittston, fork of West Branch of Penobscot. 

XVII. Sites in Piscataquis County 

XVIII. Sites in Aroostook County. 

XIX. Lake Champlain. 

XXX. Sites in Lincoln and Sagadahoc ( bounties. 

XL Sites in Knox County, Vinal and North Haven. 



PREFACE 

It is a pleasure to express gratitude to the many persons who have 
cooperated with us and thus contributed to the success of the several ex- 
peditions upon which the present report is based. 

Four men who rendered the expeditions good service have since died. 
They are: Arthur E. Marks of Yarmouth, Main*, who frequently lt't'l liis 
business during the years 1912 and 1913 to take trips with us and was able to 
furnish valuable information; Charles A. Perkins of Wakefield, Massachu- 
setts, who served with us for parts of twoor three years and travelled through 
Maine and New Hampshire to secure data; Donald F. Eldridge of Orland, 
Maine, a member of the expedition of 1912 and later one of our regular work- 
men, who enlisted in the Navy and died off the coast of France while in t In- 
service of his country; and William Hutchings, Jr., also of Orland. one of our 
workmen, who died while with the American Expeditionary force in Ger- 
many. 

To Charles C. Willoughby, Director of the Peabody Museum of Amer- 
ican Archaeology and Ethnology of Harvard University, special thanks are 
due for the privilege of consulting his wide experience in New England ar- 
chaeology. Dr. E. A. Hooton of Harvard University has kindly identified 
bones from the Red Paint People cemeteries, and Dr. Glover M. Allen, of 
the Agassiz Museum and Boston Society of Natural History, has given 
generous help in the identification of bones from the shell heaps. 

I am indebted to Dr. A. V. Kidder of the Department of Archaeology, 
Phillips Academy for his kindness in permitting Mr. R. Weber to photo- 
graph certain of our specimens. 

Francis B. Manning, while a Harvard student, was assistant to the 
Field Director and rendered very valuable service. Ernest 0. Sugden of 
Orland, Maine, served as surveyor on each expedition except the first and 
during recent years has acted as assistant to the Field Director. Walter B. 
Smith of Brewer, Maine, formerly of the U. S. Geological Survey, has sever- 
al times accompanied us as a volunteer, and his knowledge of geology and 
archaeology has been of great assistance. Professor George H. Perkins ot 
the University of Vermont, State Geologist, has assisted as on several trips 
in the Lake Champlain region. 

The Trustees of Phillips Academy have supported the work liberally, 
and Dr. Charles Peabody, Director of the Department of Archaeology, has 
frequently visited the scene of our explorations and at times taken pari in the 
work. I especially thank Dr. A.E.Stearns, Principal, and James C. Sawyer. 
Esq., treasurer of the Academy for advice and support ; also Dr. CM. Fuess 



10 



M 



ATNE ARCHAEOLOGY 



for suggestions as to the manuscript. I hereby acknowledge indebtedness 
to Professor J. H. Ropes and Alfred Ripley, Esq., of the Trustees Archae- 
ological Committee and to Judge John Adams Aiken for his interest in 

my work. 

Marshall C. Allaben of New York, a student in the Academy, has given 
volunteer assistance in the field and helped in assembling the specimens for 
this report. Other students who have given assistance in the field or in the 
museum are John Martinez, Robert Bishop, D. K. Wright, Donald Apple- 
ton, James Brewster, Fred B. Lund, Jr., and George Valliant. My sons, 
L. K. Moorehead and S. P. Moorehead, have also served on several of the 
expeditions. A roster of all who accompanied the various expeditions will be 
found at the end of this volume. 

In the course of his work as an archaeologist the writer has carried on 
explorations in more than twenty states, but nowhere has permission to 
excavate or to make observations been more freely accorded than by the 
hundreds of persons to whom we have had occasion to apply in the State of 
Maine. To the following persons on whose premises explorations were made 
our thanks are due, and equally cordial thanks should be expressed to a much 
larger number who freely gave us the desired permission but on whose land 
exploration was not actually undertaken. 

Boyd Bartlett, Castine 

L. C. Bateman, Lewiston 

Fred and Benjamin Blodgett, Bucksport 

Nathan Boynton, owner of shell-heap at Lamoine 

Hugh Brown, Sargentville 

George Budge, Mattawamkeag 

The Butler heirs, Egypt Bay 

H. E. Capens, Moosehead Lake 

Zachariah Chafee, owner of Bean's Island 

Captain I. L. Crabtree, Mount Desert Ferry 

Ebenezer Eldridge, Orland 

Fred Godfrey, Oldtown 

George H. Grant, Ellsworth 

Great Northern Paper Company, Millinocket 

Mrs. Haines, Philadelphia 

Captain S. N. Hartford, Orland 

( oburn Haskell, Blue Hill 

S. H. Hathaway, Passadumkeag 

Dr. J. Howard Wilson, Castine 

Mrs. Hill, owner of Hog Island, Penobscot Bay 

Mrs. W. S. Hodgkins, Lamoine 

Hollingsworth-Whitney Company, Moosehead Lake 

Fred J. Holway, Orland 



PREFACE 11 

The Huggins Estate, Castine 

Seth R. Hutchings, Orland 

Jones Brothers, St. Francis, N. B. 

E. A. Kennard, North Windham 

Fred Lancaster, Winslow 

Professor F. B. Loomis, Amherst, Mass. 

Maine Central R. R. at Sullivan Falls 

Thomas and F. Augustus Mason, East Orland 

Allison McCain, Mattawamkeag 

John MjcCain, Mattawamkeag 

Albert J. Phelps, Damariscotta 

Frank Pierce, owner of Emerson Point, Lake Alamoosook 

James A. Pulsifer, Auburn 

William A. Richards, Waldoboro 

Riker and Company, Kineo Hotel, Mount Kineo 

Montgomery Rollins, Boston, Mass. 

CM. Sawyer, Freeport 

Mrs. Guy H. Scull, North East Harbor 

William Shaw, Greenville i 

Dennis R. Soper, Orland 

Parker Spofford, Bucksport 

John F. Sprague, Dover 

George Stevens, Warren 

Mrs. Louise Stover, owner of shell-heap at Sorrento 

Charles Stratton, owner of Burying Island 

Milton W. Stratton, Bar Harbor 

Samuel Tarr, Warren 

Mrs. Teagle, New York 

George Truax, St. Albans, Vermont 

E. Von Mach, Castine 

P. H. Vose, Bangor 

Charles H. Went worth, Oakland 

E. T. Wing, South Portland 

J. E. Witham and Bob and John Soper, Lake Alamoosook 

Dr. George A. Wheeler of Castine who, in 1875 wrote a "History of 
Castine," gave us much valuable information. 

I also acknowledge with gratitude the cooperation of Hon. H. E. Dun- 
nack, State Librarian, Augusta; Dr. W. S. Hill, Augusta; E. M. Blanding, 
Secretary of the Bangor Historical Society; the late Hon. James P. Baxter, 
President of the Maine Historical Society, whose official letter commending 
our researches of the people of Maine was of noteworthy assistance; and His 
Excellency, Percival Baxter, now Governor of the State of Maine. 



n 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



Students of New England archaeology and anthropology are asked to 
note that the tabulation of grave contents and specimens, which are not 
published in this report, are preserved in the Archaeological Museum at 
Andover and are available for their study there. 

W. K. M. 



GENERAL ACCOUNT OF EXPEDITIONS 

The archaeology of New England has been singularly neglected in com- 
parison with that of other parts of our country. Much less time and money 
have been devoted to its study and much less literature exists on the sub- 
ject than on the antiquities of either such comparatively unexplored states as 
Wisconsin or Arkansas. Our colonists confined their observations to in- 
habited Indian villages, graveyards of the period, crudely constructed 
Indian forts, and other evidences of Indian occupation in historic times. 
Although we have in New England scores of publications dealing with early 
Indian history, Indian wars, and related subjects, we search the libraries in 
vain for a volume devoted exclusively to the archaeology of the New Eng- 
land States. 

This seems to the writer to be due to the fact that there are in New 
England no conspicuous archaeological monuments, no mounds or earth- 
works, cliff houses or ruined buildings; while in other sections of the country 
ancient mounds, ruins, and other remains, of both stone and earth, stand out 
prominently as landmarks and at once attract attention, even from a dis- 
tance. There are some small earthworks near ( 'oncord, Millis, and Andover, 
Massachusetts, and doubtless in other places in New England, but they are 
not to be compared with those of the Ohio Valley. Except the village sites, 
which are smaller here than elsewhere, we have practically no surface indi- 
cations of aboriginal occupation. While it is comparatively easy to locate 
shell heaps in cruising along the coast, to find cemeteries or interior village 
sites we are compelled to depend upon the use of spade and testing rod. A 
remark of the late Dr. Thomas Wilson of the Smithsonian Institution, that 
evidences of prehistoric occupation of a given area are found in proportion as 
men search, and not according to the ratio in which they exist, is peculiarly 
applicable to New England. 

In the early years of the Department of Archaeology of Phillips Acad- 
emy* some observations were made in that part of Essex county lying- 
nearest to Andover, and a scouting expedition was made through the Mer- 
rimac valley and on Cape Cod. A collection of stone implements was known 
to have been made by a Mr. Tew about the ponds in the region of Hanson, 
Massachusetts. These and other observations led to the conclusion that 



Established in 1901. 



GENERAL ACCOUNT OF EXPEDITIONS 13 

there was much archaeological material to be found in New England ; but the 
active field work was for some years devoted to other parts of the country, 
such as the caverns of the Ozarks. 

The success of expeditions working in Ohio, New Mexico, etc., and 
composed of large crews suggested that similar results might be obtained in 
New England, and that, if the material for study there seemed scanty, there 
was the more need of regular surveys and extensive research. A study of 
published material indicated that more or less archaeological work had been 
done in Connecticut, along the lower Penobscot, on Martha's Vineyard, 
Nantucket, and Cap&Cod, and by Professor Perkins about Lake Cham- 
plain* ; but on the whole the State of Maine seemed to offer the most prom- 
ising field for scientific exploration. Especially the splendid exhibits in the 
Peabody Museum, made by Mr. Willoughby in the early nineties from four 
cemeteries of the so-called Red Paint People of Maine**, opened the question 
of the extent of territory occupied by this people and the possibility of cor- 
relating their peculiar culture with others.*** 

Important archaeological work had also been done at Moosehead by 
J. D. McGuire and by Mr. Willoughby; among the shell heaps on the coast 
by F. H. Cushing, by Professor F. W. Putnam especially at Damariscotta, 
by Professor F. B. Loomis and Mr. D. B. Young for Amherst College in 
1909, and by Professor Arlo Bates; and in other excavations by various 
persons. f Much of this work has been published, chiefly in scientific peri- 
odicals, and much of the material gathered was on exhibition in various 
museums, but no comprehensive survey of the archaeological resources of 
Maine had been attempted. 

This our Department undertook to make, with funds granted by the 
Trustees, and the first expedition was organized in 1912.t| In March of 
that year Mr. Charles H. Perkins of Wakefield, Mass., was employed to visit 
all known collectors of archaeological specimens living in Maine. He trav- 
elled extensively over the state, and upon such maps as were available he 
entered the Indian village sites and burial places, so far as knowledge of 



* See Reports of the State Geologist of Vermont. 

** See Peabody Museum Papers Vol. 1, No. 6, "Prehistoric Burial Places in Maine." Cambridge 
1898. 

*** The name, apparently first used by Professor Arlo Bates, was given them because of the great 
quantities of red ocher or powdered hematite found in all their burial places. This is not the only fea- 
ture, however, which distinguishes them from the ordinary Indian of history and tradition. They have 
also their peculiar types of stone artifacts. 

f The shell heaps of Maine are mentioned in the Handbook of American Indians, Part 2, pp. 542 and 
937. Bureau of American Ethnology, Bull. 30, Washington, 1910. For other references, see Bibliogra- 
phy, pp . 265-268. 

ft The work of the first two years, 1912 and 1913, was done with larger appropriations and larger 
crews, twelve or fifteen men each summer, and the results were correspondingly more important than in 
subsequent years. 




E S 



EXPEDITIONS 



O f> A W N BY 

E O S UG d e N 
19 2 



GENERAL ACCOUNT OF EXPEDITIONS 



15 



them was at that time accessible. The study of this material revealed many 
sites along the Maine coast and through the valleys of the Penobscot, Kenne- 
bec, and other rivers. Of Indian sites in the interior of the State little was 
known. It had been suggested that felsite from Mt. Kineo, which the In- 
dians worked extensively and carried to various parts of the State, might 
have been taken from Moosehead down the Allegash to the St. John River, 
and Indian sites had been reported on Chamberlain, Chesuncook, and 
other lakes lying about the head of the Allegash. Accordingly I went to 
Moosehead Lake early in May, and with Frank Capino, a Penobscot In- 
dian, as guide, journeyed by canoe from Northeast Carry through the West 
Branch of the Penobscot, Lakes Chesuncook . and Chamberlain, Eagle Pond 
and Long Pond, down the Allegash to the St. John, and down the St. John 
to Fort Kent, at the mouth of the Fish River, a distance of some three hun- 
dred and fifty kilometers. Many sportsmen and pleasure seekers have taken 
the Allegash trip, but no one seems to have looked at the banks of these 
rivers and lakes with a view to recording aboriginal sites. We discovered 
about fifteen small sites. The water being unusually high, many places at 
which guides reported that arrow heads and chips of the Kineo flint had been 
found, were inaccessible.* We attempted no explorations at this time. The 
trip was merely a reconnoissance. 

Our regular exploring expedition occupied the summers from 1912 to 
1920, omitting 1916, which was devoted by the Director to a Susquehanna 
exploration not under Phillips Academy jurisdiction but for the Museum of 
the American Indian, New York, and to the Connecticut River survey 
of 1919, the report on which will be published later. 

The number of men in the party varied greatly from year to year, but 
we usually had enough to divide into several groups, so that more than one 
spot was being excavated, or more than one route was being followed, at the 
same time. The Survey has traversed a large part of the State of Maine in 
canoes and has made many trips by motor-boat or horse-drawn vehicle or on 
foot. Travel by canoe is in general by far the best method of exploration in 
New England, for the Indians travelled by canoe and we can move over the 
same thoroughfare that they traversed. On the roads, often remote from 
the stream, it is difficult to observe the river banks. Although travel by 
river has disadvantages in a thickly settled district such as that bordering 

The obliteration of archaeological sites in Maine by the erection of modern dams requires mention. 
On the upper waters and lakes discharging into the Penobscot. Kennebec, Allegash, and other waterways, 
dams ranging from four to fifteen meters in height have been built in recent years by lumber companies, 
and in consequence the lake levels have been raised many meters. At Lake Chesuncook, where between 
1890 and 1905 Mr. Marks found many interesting specimens, a large dam has so raised the level of the 
lake that most of the Indian sites are now flooded. Since 1912 the lumber companies have stored even 
more water and it will probably never be possible to carry out archaeological researches on Lake Chesun- 
cook or Lake Chamberlain. 



16 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



on the Connecticut River from Turner's Falls down, in Maine it has prove( 
much more satisfactory than any other method.* 

Our custom has been to go first to the head of a river, shipping our 
canoes and camp outfit there, and to start down stream. For the first hun- 
dred kilometers or more, while the river is narrow, both banks can easily be 
observed from the canoes, and the expedition keeps well together. When the 
river becomes a hundred meters or more wide, the canoes separate, two fol- 
lowing the right bank and two or three the left. The men are continually 
landing to examine the banks; often they paddle up small tributary streams 
as far as the canoe can be driven. In the broken river banks at various dis- 
tances below the top, specimens, fire pits, and other indications of wigwam 
sites are often discovered. 

Experience in the field teaches the archaeologist to select readily the 
places at which Indian remains are likely to be found. These sites are usually 
near the mouth of a tributary stream or upon a lake. A site which appeals 
to the camper of today was likewise attractive to the Indian, and we fre- 
quently find modern camp sites placed upon Indian camping grounds. 

In the following summary of the territory covered, travel by automo- 
bile, train, or steamer is not included. The mileage given is the total cov- 
ered by the party whether entire or in sections.* 1 In addition to the trips 
noted below, a number of short ones were made by various members of the 
expedition, from one point to another, ranging from forty to two hundred 
and forty kilometers, so that it is safe to assume that at least eighty-eight 
hundred kilometers, or fifty-five hundred miles were covered by these sur- 
veys and expeditions. 

191 J 
May. Preliminary tour of observation. 

Moosehead Lake and AVest Branch of 300 miles 

Penobscot, Chesuncook and Chamberlain Lakes. or 

Allegash and St . John Rivers at Fort Kent. 500 kilometers. 

June to September. Twelve to fifteen men. 

Bucksport, Orland, Lake Alamoosook, 600 miles 

Lower Penobscot, Sargent ville, 1912 or 1913 or 

Moosehead Lake, Upper Penobscot, 1000 kilometers. 

Mattawamkeag, Passadumkeag, tributary streams. 

*Our canoes arc extra wide, over six meters long and sea-worthy. Two of them have covered a dis- 
tance of five thousand miles in nine States and Provinces, from the St. John River to the Susquehanna, 
and arc still in good condition, although nine years old. They have all been given Indian names: Te- 
CUmseh, Ur<\ Cloud, Sitting Hull, and King Philip. Each will carry three persons and three hundred 
pounds of baggage. When so loaded they thaw not over eight inches of water. With two men and or- 
dinary luggage, six inches. 

**It is of course much greater than the distance on the ma]) from point to point. Frequently in the 
area of a lake not more than eight or ten kilometers long, since we arc compelled to follow the entire 
shore line and also to work up tributary streams, we may travel sixty or seventy kilometers or even 
more, in order to make an observation complete. 




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MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



1913 



300 miles 



or 
500 kilometers. 



700 miles 
or 
1160 kilometers. 



1100 miles 
or 
1760 kilometers. 



April and May. 

Small expedition for five weeks on Sebago 

Lake. 
June to September. Twelve men. 

Toddy Pond, Blue Hill, Hancock Point, 
Sullivan Falls, Lamoine, Union River, 
Frenchman's Bay, coast and islands from 
East of Bar Harbor to Ellsworth, 
Mt. Desert and adjacent islands. 

191k 

Ju ne to September. Twelve or thirteen men. 

Moosehead Lake, West Branch of Penobscot, 

St. John River and tributary streams, 

East Branch of St. Croix River, Grand and 

Schoodic Lakes, West Branch of St. Croix 

River, Machias, Bucksport, Sandy Point. 

1915 
June to September. Fourteen men. 

Castine region, coast and islands, 

Eggemoggin Reach, Orland, Mattawamkeag River, 

Piscataquis River, Katahdin Iron Works, 

Penobscot from Passadumkeag to Castine, 

Georges River. 

1917 
May to September. Six men. 

Saco River, Salmon Falls, The Weirs, 

Lake Champlain, cooperating with the 

University of Vermont. 

1918 
May and June. Four men. 

Coast and islands from Georges River to Kennebec, 

Waldoboro and Medomac River, or 

Pemaquid Pond, Damariscotta River and Lake. 600 kilometers. 

Small expedition on Kennebec River from 200 miles or 

below Moosehead to Waterville. 300 kilometers. 

1919 

June to August. Seven men. 

Connecticut River Survey. 

September. 

Lancaster's cemetery at Winslow, for the Bangor His- 
torical Society. 



800 miles 
or 
1300 kilometers. 



600 miles 
or 
1000 kilometers. 



400 miles 



GENERAL ACCOUNT OF EXPEDITIONS 19 

1 920 
June to September. Eight men. 

Sebasticook River and China Lake, 410 miles 

Kennebec and Androscoggin Rivers, or 

East Branch of Penobscot, 650 kilometers. 

Belgrade Lakes, Wayne-Auburn region. 

1921 
July to August. 

No expedition. Curator visited Castine region and 
lakes near Mount Katahdin. 



PART II 



THE RED PAINT PEOPLE 



Descriptions of Explorations — Cemeteries 

A. 
Bucksport. 1912.* 

Early in June, 1912, the first expedition established headquarters in 
Bucksport, about thirty kilometers below Bangor on the east bank of the 
Penobscot. Here we first inspected the sandy knoll north of the town near 
the tannery, on land owned by Messrs. Fred and Benjamin Blodgett. Mr. 
Willoughby had explored this site in 1892 and removed all the objects that 
he could discover.** Previous to his investigation, laborers hauling sand 
and gravel from the ridge had uncovered a number of graves, but most of the 
objects removed at that time had been lost. 

We made a number of excavations in another knoll near the tannery 
and also dug on bluffs on the Penobscot river above the Blodgett estate and 
on land owned by Mr. Parker SpofTord, but without result. There is a fine 
spring about half a kilometer up the river from the tannery, and tradition 
averred that the Indians formerly used to camp at this place, but a number 
of pits sunk by our party failed to reveal any traces of burials or village 
here. 

Some of our men were sent up the river from Bucksport, and they ex- 
amined both the east and west banks near Winterport and also at points as 
far as ten kilometers above that village. Evidences of ordinary camp sites 
were discovered, but no large village site and no burial place could be found. 
There are no surface indications, and in order to determine positively 
whether there are cemeteries of the Red Paint People between Bucksport 
and Bangor it would be necessary to dig upon every estate bordering the 
river for the entire distance. This is true of all sections of southern Maine. 

It was stated by several older residents of Bucksport that when the 
foundations were dug for a number of houses along Main street, sixty or 
seventy years ago, great quantities of red ocher and the gouges, plummets, 
celts, and other objects usually found in Red Paint cemeteries were un- 
covered. There are a number of witnesses to these discoveries living at the 
present time in Bucksport. 



•See Plana I and XII. 

**See Peahody Museum Paper I, 6, pp. 17-30. 



Cambridge, 1898. 



RED PAINT PEOPLE CEMETERIES 21 



Orland. 1912 

After some observations at Bucksport, the survey moved to Orland, a\ 
village situated about four kilometers south of Bucksport, at the head of tide 1 
water on Narramissic stream, called by some Orland river. The Narramis- 
sic is fed by Lake Alamoosook, a beautiful pond of fresh water some five 
kilometers east of the village of Orland. On the shores of this lake occur 
three cemeteries at distances of not more than two kilometers from one an- 
other. 

At Orland we found the Narramissic flowing in a picturesque little valley. 
There is a dam here which furnishes power for a saw mill and a grist mill. 
Above the dam the water is fresh; below, it is salt, and small schooners tie up 
at the wharf below the dam. In Indian times there were falls two or three/ 
meters in height where the dam is now located. On either side of the stream 
at this point there are high, steep hills, as the river has cut out a miniature 
gorge on its passage to the Penobscot. The banks flanking these hills were { 
favorite resorts for aboriginal fishing parties, and numerous spears, plum- 
mets, celts, and axes were left about the valley. 

All about Orland are evidences of the Kineo felsite, not only in the bur-j 
ial places but more especially upon the village sites or scattered generally! 
throughout the region. On the shores of Lake Alamoosook at low water one\ 
could pick up great quantities of this material brought from Mount Kineo/ 
by the Indians in ancient times. 

Mr. Fred J. Holway owns a large farm overlooking the Narramissicj 
river and lying on the right bank of the stream below the village at the crest' 
of the hill, some thirty or forty meters above tide water. In opening a sand 
pit on this farm many years ago, the workmen discovered numerous graves 
of the Red Paint People and a large number of implements were secured. 
Many of these were obtained by Mr. Marks of Yarmouth and are now in the 
Andover collection. A few were taken to Bangor and placed in the collection 
of the Bangor Historical Society. Unfortunately in the great fire at Bangor 
in 1910 the collection was entirely destroyed. It contained some of the 
finest objects ever discovered in the State of Maine and the loss is irrepa- 
rable. Such losses emphasize the need of fireproof museums in all cities. 

Although we labored assiduously for several days on the Holway farm, 
we found no more graves. The cemetery apparently occupied a space of 
thirty by twenty-five meters and was entirely dug out during the process of 
removing sand and gravel. We discovered some fire pits a hundred meters 
east and south of the gravel pit, but in them there was only the usual char- 
coal and burnt earth, with no animal bones and stone implements. Al- 
though we employed ten men and sunk upwards of one hundred holes, we 
found only one rough, unfinished plummet during our search of the premises. 
There are indications of chert, argillite, and slate chippings on the surface, 







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RED PAINT PEOPLE CEMETERIES 23 

and as the ground was favorable for a camp site, it had probably been oc- 
cupied by Indians. Tradition has it that long ago the Penobscots built weirs 
at the falls and thus obtained shad, salmon, alewives, and other fish, as they 
were ascending or descending the river. The oldest settlers remember that 
the Indians used to camp at this place while engaged in fishing. 

Hartford's Cemetery. 

Near the village and on the same side of the stream, is the farm of Cap- 
tain Seth N. Hartford, facing the turnpike known as the Ellsworth, Bucks- 
port, and Bangor Road, and running back toward the river. Mr. Ernest O. 
Sugden of Orland, who took great interest in our work and afterwards went 
on all of the expeditions, informed me that near the two barns owned by 
Captain Hartford he had picked up several plummets and gouges, but had 
not observed any red paint. Mr. Valentine Soper had also found specimens 
at this place. In the east side of a steep hill just north of the two barns, the 
town of Orland had opened a gravel pit, which had been in use for some ten 
years and was worked back forty meters from the road, leaving the bank 
now several meters high. The boys of Orland had formerly found a 
number of graves at a point half way between the original edge of the bank 
and the present bank. 

We dug numerous holes along the knoll just west of the present gravel 
bank, but were unable to find any more graves. The soil here is ordinary 
clay. The east edge of the bank, which has been removed, was composed of 
sand, and the Red Paint People preferred above all things to place their 
cemeteries in a sandy flat or a sandy ridge. We have often found burials in 
gravel but never in clay. It is therefore probable that the graves removed in 
the course of excavating the gravel were all the graves in this particular ridge. 
To make certain, however, we carried on extensive operations for two or 
three weeks over Captain Hartford's farm. He permitted us to cut the hay, 
and after this was done we put a force of eleven or twelve men at work dig- 
ging test holes all over the ridge as far back as two hundred meters from the 
barns. We also dug on the slopes of the ridge to the south, or towards the 
river. This labor produced only negative results. 

Finally graves were discovered in the space between the two barns, not 
far from the ridge. This yard is rather low, and few cemeteries have been 
found in such a location. We staked off an area about a hundred meters 
square, of which Plan II shows the part containing the barnyard, the barns, 
and all the graves discovered. It should be borne in mind that more ground 
was excavated than is indicated on the map, as this naturally includes only 
the space in which graves occurred. This is true of all the sites which we ex- 
plored. 

Apparently the area had been disturbed even before the barns were con- 
structed. The land was first cultivated about a century ago, and plowing 



u 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



had disturbed the graves nearest the surface, for some interments were not 
more than twenty or thirty centimeters below the sod. The deeper graves 
contained more objects than the shallower ones, and the ocher was brighter. 
Near the surface were some deposits of red ocher and discolored soil in which 
no implements were encountered. Most of these finds indicated a disturbed 
condition, and it is therefore reasonable to suppose that the implements had 
been removed through plowing.* As there were two barns and a shed sur- 
rounding the barnyard, it had been much in use. The loam had been carted 
off from a space twenty -five by twenty meters in extent between the build- 
ings and the surface covered with a heavy, whitish clay. Hence all graves 
originally in this space were either completely destroyed or for the greater 
part hauled away. It is fortunate that not all the graves were in the barn- 
yard.** 

A study of the thirty-nine interments opened at this place, in addition to 
numerous deposits of red ocher in which no implements were found, leads one 
to believe that originally there must have been upwards of a hundred burials 
in this cemetery. We assume that they all occupied a comparatively small 
space, perhaps thirty by forty meters. To the south, the west, the north, 
and the east of this area, we could find no burials. At these points the soil is 
either clay or gravel or contains large stones. Doubtless the Red Paint 
People tested the ridge and deposited their dead where digging was compara- 
tively easy, that is, in sand or sandy loam. 

The graves having been in many instances disturbed, we can state only 
with reservation that the contents varied from two or three objects to as high 
as ten. I am of the opinion that graves containing five or more objects were 
absolutely undisturbed, and that those containing from one to four objects, 
unless deeper than forty or fifty centimeters, had been disturbed. 

A study of the graves indicate that gouges predominate. In contrast 
to the Emerson cemetery,! polished slate spear heads are rare, only two or 
three being found. In general there was less slate used by the people occu- 
pying this site than chert or Kineo felsite. There is uniformity as to work- 
manship and art as a whole, but some individual graves are strikingly differ - 



* During the exploration <>f all the cemeteries near Bucksport we occasionally discovered objects 
which were entered on our field notes as "si rays." However, after going over the notes very carefully and 
studying the collections, I am of the opinion that these are not all strays, but that some were originally 
in the graves of the Red Painl People and have been disturbed by the plow or by those who were digging 
in search of specimens. 

** The details of most of the more t han four hundred and forty graves found by us in Maine in 1912 
and later years, will be omitted in the report, only certain important ones being here described, but tables 
have been prepared of which the Department of Archaeology will be glad to forward a typewritten copy 
to anyone who wishes to learn the contents of every grave. The field notes, which would fill more than 
two hundred pages if inserted here, state all particulars, setting forth in detail the position of the grave 
and the distances of the various objects from one another. 

t See page 34. 







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26 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



ent from the average. Many of them contain practically the same things, 
while other single graves may show a preponderance of plummets, or of 
celts, hatchets, and adze blades, or of gouges. One individual might have 
three or four polished stone hatchets buried with him, and another two or 
three gouges and two or three celts and a plummet or two. 

In nearly every grave there was a fire stone, or fragment of decayed iron 
pyrites, of the same character as those found by Mr. Willoughby at Bucksport 
and in the natural mound on the shores of Lake Alamoosook. Nearly all of 
the graves contained also a pebble more or less smooth and usually quite 
small, about the size of a marble and of some bright color. These pebbles 
occurred also at the Emerson and Mason cemeteries, and the workmen 
called them "lucky stones." They are not to be confused with hammer- 
stones. At first we thought them to be natural to the soil - - a part of the 
light gravel — but their persistent occurrence indicates that they were in- 
troduced intentionally. They might have been used to grind up the red 
paint, but most of them are too small to have been of real service for this 
purpose and few, if any, show traces of wear. Possibly t he paint was so soft 
that it did not abrase the surface of the stone.* In many graves in all the 
cemeteries examined there were rounded smooth stones as large as eggs which 
may more probably have served as paint grinders. 

From the discoloration of the sand from one-third of a meter to one 
meter beyond the deposits, we may infer that a considerable quantity of 
ocher was placed with each interment. A small amount of ocher would not, 
I believe, discolor such an extent of soil. Sometimes the men found color a 
few inches above implements, but usually it extended beneath or beyond 
and on all sides. The stone implements lay in this ocher, and we may surmise 
that quarts of it were placed in each grave. Later in other cemeteries, we 
have found as much as a bushel in one grave. For the origin of the red 
ocher, see p. 133. 

Before photographing a grave, the objects were cleared of earth and 
ocher, and after the negative had been taken they were removed. It fre- 
quently happened that there were several smaller objects beneath the de- 
posit of ocher containing the large ones; hence some of our negatives show 
fewer objects than the catalogue indicates as taken from those particular 
graves. Again, objects may occur fifteen or more centimeters apart, and it 
is sometimes difficult to decide in which grave they had been placed. 

Usually the stone implements lay together or but slightly separated. 
Generally they had been laid flat, grooves of gouges uppermost, but oc- 
casionally they were turned at an angle, and often were slightly sloping or 
elevated at one end, especially in the case of the graves nearest the surface. 
No uniformity was observed by the ancient people in placing these burials. 



For another suggestion, sec p. 50. - T 




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RED PAINT PEOPLE CEMETERIES 29 

one to the left in 19 and the central one in 20. Several types are to be ob- 
served : the ordinary gouge with groove rectangular in outline, the gouge in 
which the depression is drawn to a point one third of the distance from the 
cutting end, and other specialized forms. 

The two in fig. 17 have rectangular grooves, but the interesting feature 
lies in the graceful curve of the cutting edges. 

A few ornamental stones and one or two that apparently are effigies 
were discovered in the Hartford site. In one of the graves we found the 
outer surface of an ordinary concretion, worked hollow and used, I sup- 
pose, as a cup. It was found filled with red paint. 

In or near Graves 33 and 34 were two flat sandstone slabs, thirty and 
forty centimeters in diameter and about two centimeters thick, with surfaces 
apparently polished or worn. They seem too thin to serve as mortars. Pos- 
sibly paint was worked on them, but their use is not certain. 

Our field notes on Grave 18 are inserted here, to give an idea of the 
general character of observations in the field. 

"Grave 18. This was 68 cm. down in sand and immediately 
'north of the barn. (See Plan II and Fig. 7). Fully a quart of 
bright red ocher was taken out and there was much more mixed with 
the sand. 68 cm. east of the main deposit and 35 cm. higher up 
occurred two large plummets, one badly decayed, associated with 
a quantity of ocher. This was probably a second burial, but was 
classed with grave 18. The objects were as follows: Two large gouges, 
well made, 33 cm. and 21 cm. long; lay N. E. and S. W., bits to the 
N. E. About 33 cm. east lay four other gouges and celts at right 
angles to the first two. One of these celts was badly decayed by a 
lump of pyrites which lay at its smaller end. The bits of these four 
objects were turned toward the first two and practically in contact 
with them. All except the largest gouge were surrounded by the 
ocher. There were three lumps of pyrites and numerous small 
fragments of the same, but no hammer stones." 

"The barn was tunnelled under about five meters in from the 
east wall and the trench was mushroomed at the end. Several 
large masses of ocher, spread in layers, were encountered 70 cm. 
down, which contained no relics." 

"On the original surface where the barns are, were evidences 
of an Indian camp site — cores, chips, and 'turtlebacks'; also 
some ashes and charcoal." 

Three years later, on June 14, 1915, we returned to Orland from Cas- 
tine because we learned that men engaged in hauling gravel from the bank 
before mentioned, had discovered some red ocher at a point beyond the 
school house, where we had previously made tests. 



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RED PAINT PEOPLE CEMETERIES 31 

We worked the bank back some three meters, following the red paint 
layer to the end, and as the bank had been worked down by the gravel 
haulers, we were able to get a clear vertical face for some distance. This 
enabled me to determine that a layer of paint had been laid down by the 
Indians, some nine meters across at this point. As we worked into the 
bank this narrowed, and after three and one half meters it disappeared. As 
the camera would not show these faint strata to advantage, my son drew 
them carefully, employing colors to show the differences. 

I observed that the paint layer was about two-thirds of a meter below 
the surface where we 'first encountered it but sloped gradually upward. 
When grave 209 had been taken out and we had worked two meters further, 
to the point where the red streak ran out, it was less than a quarter of a 
meter from the surface. Possibly some of the top of the bank had been re- 
moved at this point in previous years. 

So far as I could determine, the burials had been placed upon the layer 
of ocher. Certainly we observed the outlines of two graves, one of which 
the workmen had removed. Extending from the surface downward to the 
bottom of the red layer were two places where the strata of sand and gravel 
had been broken. These pits were about one meter wide, but the length 
could not be determined, for the reason that the graves or deposits were so 
old and the difference between the natural and the disturbed soil so nearly 
obliterated, that we could not easily distinguish them when digging directly 
down. We cannot always tell where a grave begins and ends, but when the 
section appears in a straight gravel bank with exposed perpendicular face, 
the slight difference is noted. A view is presented in Fig. 18. 

Here as elsewhere the paint was brighter under the deposits and fainter 
in the area outside of them. Either the layer of ocher was first spread over 
the base of a rather extended area, then the interments placed upon it and 
more ocher added about each deposit, or else the graves may have been dug 
separately and so much ocher put into each one that water penetrating 
through the gravel distributed enough of it to discolor the soil for some me- 
ters in various directions.* 

While we felt certain that we could see the two grave outlines, as stated, 
yet we were unable positively to trace disturbed strata between the two 
graves, although very careful work was done with the hand trowel. It 
does not seem possible that the layer could have been placed there first, the 
sand and gravel placed carefully upon it, and the graves dug in subsequent 
years. Possibly the explanation lies in the suggestion that water carried the 
ocher along upon a general level or horizontal plane; but if this is true, why 
has not the same condition been more often observed in other cemeteries? 



* For similar observations made at the Hathaway and Lancaster cemeteries, see pp. 53 and 100. 




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RED PAINT PEOPLE CEMETERIES 33 

If we could have found graves in the edge of the gravel pit before the team- 
sters began work, we might have solved an interesting problem. 

Lake Alamoosook. 1912. 

Lake Alamoosook, which lies within the town of Orland and five kilo- 
meters east of the village, as has been noted, is about four kilometers long 
and two kilometers broad. The outlet which forms the Narramissic river is 
at the northwest corner. See plan III. 

Several of us visted this region in June, 1912, while the other men were 
digging at Orland, and late in the month we rented a cottage conveniently 
situated at the outlet of the lake and just across from the property owned by 
Mr. Frank Pierce, known as the Elijah Emerson estate. We spent three 
weeks in exploration of this cemetery, employing local labor in addition to 
our own force. 

After a trip to Moosehead and the West Branch of the Penobscot and on 
completion of our journey down the main river including the exploration of 
Hathaway's cemetery at Passadumkeag (see pp. 50, 55), we returned to 
Lake Alamoosook in August and spent three weeks more, continuing the 
explorations of the Emerson and Mason cemeteries. At this time we rented 
a more commodious cottage about half a kilometer from the Emerson ceme- 
tery and two kilometers from Mason's Landing. 

In this report I shall treat the work at the Mason and Emerson ceme- 
teries as a whole, although there were these two periods of work with the 
northern trip intervening. The map presented in plan III is by Mr. Sugden, 
who spent partof the month of October of that year in making a careful 
survey of the shores of the lake. 

The six weeks spent at Lake Alamoosook resulted in the identification 
and exploration of five or six sites, two of which were the large cemeteries 
mentioned. There were numerous small camp sites, which are indicated on 
the map, but nothing of consequence was found at the points where they are 

located. . . 

To the northeast of Lake Alamoosook and emptying into it is a long 
body of sluggish water known as Dead River, with a brook entering it five 
kilometers from the lake and another smaller lake or pond about three kilo- 
meters up the brook. No evidences of a considerable Indian population 
could be discovered, either around the shores of this pond or along the brook. 

In the following summer we examined the shore of Toddy Pond, four- 
teen kilometers long, which is nearby and to the southeast of Lake Alamoo- 
sook. This larger body drains into Alamoosook, and the natural supposi- 
tion was that more evidences of the Red Paint culture would be found here. 
My field notes on Toddy Pond, however, indicate no occupation of that site 
by any considerable number of aborigines. 



34 



M A I N E A R C HAEOLOGY 



The water of Lake Alamoosook has been raised about two meters by the 
building of a dam two meters and a half high at the foot of the lake, where 
there is a saw-mill now owned by Messrs. Witham and Soper. Old residents 
of the neighborhood informed me that previous to the erection of this dam, 
when the lake was at the same level as in Indian times, heaps of chips, spalls, 
rejects, hammerstones, and other material denoting the manufacture of im- 
plements, lay about the shore at the points indicated by the letter E on Plan 
III. This particularly applies to the outlet and to the bays on the north side 
between the outlet and Dead River, where these indications of Indian work- 
shops are most numerous. Mr. Robert Soper, whose father assisted Mr. 
Willoughby in 1892 in the exploration of the mound indicated by the letter C 
on the map, informs me that both he and his father, when the water was very 
low in the lake, have discovered large numbers of chipped implements, some 
broken slate points, and a few celts and plummets. We examined all the 
shore of the lake but made formal excavations only at the two important bur- 
ial sites. 

The Emerson Cemetery 

Many years ago Captain Elijah Emerson built a cottage on a charming 
point of land at the north vnd of Lake Alamoosook, with the river or outlet 
flowing along the western edge of his property. The stream is but forty 
meters wide at the present time. There is a dam and a saw-mill at this point 
but formerly there were falls flanking the Emerson lot and there is a tradi- 
tion that at these falls the Indians caught great numbers of fish. 

It is related of Captain Emerson that he entertained many guests at his 
cottage but he would never permit exploration on his land, although it was 
known that numbers of stone implements had been picked up there. He ap- 
pears to have made one exception however. Dr. Augustus C. Hamlin of 
Bangor, who was active in organizing the Bangor Historical Society, visited 
Alamoosook and asked Mr. Foster Soper, who knew the Captain well, to 
intercede for him. At last they were permitted to examine the land for a 
period limited to one day. and Mr. Robert Soper has informed me that his 
father and Dr. Hamlin hitched an ox team to a heavy plow and spent the day 
in plowing over the Emerson land to the depth of two furrows. According to 
Mr. Prescott H. Vose of Bangor, Dr. Hamlin brought back a large number of 
stone, chert, and slate objects to Bangor in a spring wagon; and Dr. Hamlin 
himself told Mr. Willoughby that ninety-nine implements of various kinds 
were secured during the day's work. After the plowing was completed and 
a heavy rain rendered the field suitable for searching, Mr. Marks collected 
twenty or thirty more implements from the surface, which are now in the 
Andover collection. 

Mr. Frank Pierce, the present owner of the property, kindly permitted 
us to explore it completely and we uncovered the graves shown in plan IV. 




Fig. 7. Grave 18. Hartford's. Not all the objects are shown here. Others were underneath these adze 
blades and gouges. 



36 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



The site was found to be more disturbed than Captain Hartford's, all graves 
lying within forty centimeters of the surface having been destroyed, so far 
as scientific observations are concerned, by the heavy plowing referred to. 
Only the graves lying deeper appeared to be in their original condition. The 
cemetery occupied a space of about seventeen by twenty meters. The soil 
is a loose, sandy loam, in which the Indian did not find digging difficult. 

We staked the field from the edge of the slope bordering the lake back 
toward the house for eighty meters, and numerous holes were put down along 
the high land overlooking the outlet, but no grave could be found save in 
the spot indicated on plan III. 

On our second visit we extended two long trenches from near the water 
line to a point fifteen meters beyond where the last grave was discovered and 
numerous pits were dug fifty or more meters in all directions out from the 
cemetery, but absolutely nothing more was found. 

While Mr. Pierce kindly permitted excavations at the point named, he 
did not wish us to dig in the lawn directly in front of his cottage. I sunk our 
steel sounding rod, however, in a number of places here, and as I found the 
soil composed of heavy clay or gravel, with considerable stone in it, I ven- 
ture the opinion that no burials were made on this part of the knoll. 

North of Mr. Pierce's cottage we sunk fifteen or twenty pits and found a 
large Indian village or camp site, witli quantities of pottery fragments, 
chips of Kineo stone, chert, etc.. and four or five gouges and plummets 
which were given to the owner. This was not a village of the Red Paint 
People, however, and no graves were found there. 

All considered, there must have been at least two hundred burials made 
upon Mr. Pierce's property in prehistoric times.* It is unfortunate that such 
a place could not have been thoroughly examined before it was disturbed. 
If there were any fire pits near the surface, they cannot be traced at the pres- 
ent time. One fire pit was discovered at the south end of the slope, as is 
marked on the plan, but nothing was found either in it or below it. Neither 
at Emerson's nor at Hartford's did we discover fire pits of the same charac- 
ter as those found by Mr. Willoughby in the mound further east. 

Where a few superimposed graves occurred, the Indians had dug down 
below the loam into the hard grey clay known as "hard pan". This lay on 
the average forty-five centimeters below the grave. A few of the deeper 
graves were dug into this hard layer, and just beyond the fire pit a layer of 
burnt earth was encountered twenty-eight centimeters down. Except for 
this, no traces of ash pits were found in the entire excavations. 

A study of our field notes indicates that the largest number of objects 
found in any one deposit was twenty-one, but that graves containing one, 
two, or four objects predominate. More red ocher was found here than at 

*Figs. 11, 12, 13 and 14 present views of the Emerson site. 




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38 MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 

Hartford's. There were sixty or more deposits of ocher or of soil discolored 
red, but as few or no implements were found in them, they were probably 
the graves that Dr. Hamlin plowed out. The deeper graves contained the 
same average number of specimens as were found in Mason's and Hartford's 
cemeteries and in Hathaway's at Passadumkeag. As was observed at Cap- 
tain Hartford's, not a single trace of a human skeleton was to be discovered 
in any of these graves. 

Although the work was very carefully done, hand trowels being used 
quite as much as the larger tools, no uniformity of position of artifacts is to 
be noted. On the contrary, as at Hartford's even in the deep graves, al- 
though the objects are lying horizontally, they are not placed in the same 
order. That is, the celts, the plummets, the gouges, or the problematical 
forms are not always to the right or to the left, nor are they grouped; and 
while the objects in one grave may lie northeast and southwest, in another 
grave they may lie east and west, or northwest and southeast. 

Whether some of the tools were detached from their original handles 
when buried, cannot be determined positively, but it is the general. opinion 
that when the objects are bunched together, they were already detached 
from the handles when so placed, but that where objects are five to fifteen 
centimeters apart, they were buried in their original haftings. 

In some of the deeper graves large stones had been placed beside the 
interment or over it. See fig. 28. Frequently objects were placed at the base 
of a large stone, but the upper portion of these stones do not appear to have 
been discolored bv the ocher. From the fact that only the side of the stone 
next the implements presented a red appearance, we would infer that the 
stones were placed beside the grave, or that the large stones found in the 
ground by the aborigines when they were digging a grave, were left there 
and the interment was placed at the side of the obstruction. No such stones 
were in the Hartford cemetery. 

A field note on grave 64 is here inserted. 

"This was a cache rather than a grave, twenty-one celts and 
gouges occurring in one confused pile. Two gouges lying about 45 
cm, west were counted as belonging to this cache. Contents: Four 
gouges somewhat small, with narrow cutting edges, but widened at 
the middles. Five large gouges of the broad-edged type, all but one 
with bits so broken as to be useless; the bit of one seems to show 
distinct signs of alterat ion. Ten celts of varying sizes, but all of the 
same type except one, and that one, heavy and thick. These celts 
are all utility tools. Most of the edges are in fit condition, but three 
are chipped and worn. In the case of the gouges, it would seem 
that the broken-pointed broad ones had been brought together 
to be re-sharpened, the process necessarily producing a narrow- 




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B.MASON Burial place 
C soper burial Place 

D.INDIAN VILLAGE SITE 3 
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42 MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 

bitted gouge, though not affecting the size of the body. With the 
celts it would appear to be the same — the edges are either chipped 
and dull or smooth and sharp. The bits of the re-sharpened ones 
are not narrower than the dull ones, as the process did not affect 
the width, any more than sharpening an axe lessens the width. 
It would appear, therefore, that this was a cache of tools in the pro- 
cess of re-sharpening." 
This grave is shown in fig. 21. 

The Mason Cemetery 

On the southeast side of Lake Alamoosook is a low stretch of land 
owned by Messrs. Tom and Augustus Mason, who reside in East Orland. 
The shores of the lake for a certain distance from the edge are controlled by 
Mr. William Shaw of Greenville, who owns the water rights. Both the 
Messrs. Mason and Mr. Shaw gave us permission to dig on their land, and 
we examined various places about this end of the lake but discovered noth- 
ing of importance until on the Mason land, about a hundred meters back 
from the shore at the point marked B on plan III, we found a large cemetery 
more or less disturbed. The owners and Mr. George F. Johnson of Boston 
had dug on this site many years before, and as the place is overgrown with 
bushes and has never been plowed, it is easy to trace this former digging. 
About thirty pits seem to have been put down in past years. 

Since this report was written, I visited Mr. Johnson at his home in 
Boston and inspected his collect ion. He has some 85 or 90 gouges, plummets 
and adze blades all from the Mason site. They are of the long, slender 
forms such as we found. 

After inspection of Mason's land, we observed that the pits sunk by 
Mr. Johnson lay, for the most part, along a little sand ridge, not more than a 
meter above the level of the lake, which runs from the edge of the water 
parallel with the present outlet of Toddy Pond, and has an old lumber road 
running along its top. We supposed that the road was in use at the time of 
the former excavations, as the pits were not dug in the road. 

We carried a long trench for a distance of twenty meters southeast, 
following the road from a point on top of this ridge, and opened several 
graves. We then extended the trench for about forty meters to the right or 
west, and opened more graves, making a total of twenty-eight. A few of 
those near the surface appeared to have been disturbed, but many were 
found in their original condition. Little red ocher was found with the bur- 
ials for the reason that at high water seepage is considerable, and even at the 
ordinary stage of water, the implements in the deeper graves lie several 
cm. below the water line. If we dug deeper than one meter, the water en- 
tered our pits, and interfered with further explorations. From indications 
we assume that the cemetery extends to the north along the sand ridge and 



RED PAINT PEOPLE CEMETERIES 43 

that many graves are now covered with water. Indeed the Mason brothers 
told me that previous to the building of the dam at the outlet, the ceme- 
tery on their property extended along the sand knoll at least one hundred 
meters further toward the northwest. Some of this space is now covered 
with water a meter in depth, and it would be impossible to examine the 
graves. About eighty meters out from the present shore line, at a spot where 
there is now half a meter of water, when the elder Mr. Mason was a boy, an 
Indian skeleton was discovered, wrapped in birch bark and buried in the 
sand. With this skeleton was a buckskin bag filled with large leaden slugs, 
and a number of other articles. This was of course a burial of the early his- 
toric period. 

To complete our investigation it would be necessary to have the water 
in the lake lowered a meter or more for a few days, and we got permission 
from the owner of the water rights to have this done, but the plan was not 
carried out because of opposition from two owners of shore-property.* One 
of these men caused us some trouble. He was one of the few men in all 
our years of research who deliberately blocked our investigations. 

We examined the ground for some distance south, or back from the 
lake, on the Mason land. There appears to be an extensive village site 
here, extending to the foot of some low hills three hundred meters distant. 
Bushes and grass cover the surface, and although a number of pits were put 
down, the place was not examined thoroughly. We observed that quanti- 
ties of flint chips and rejects of the usual character and of Kineo material 
predominated. This was a village of the usual type, and did not have any 
of the peculiar kind of artifacts that are found in the Red Paint graves. 

As in the case of the Hartford and Emerson sites, the graves at Mason's 
are placed close together, as one would naturally suppose that Indians would 
bury. On our plan they do not appear to be near to each other, but that is 
because those opened in former years by Mr. Johnson are not shown. They 
range in depth from forty centimeters to one meter. 

On opening the graves we observed that the sand was discolored by 
ocher but because of the presence of water the paint was washed out and it 
was impossible to save it in any quantity. No large stones were discovered 
as at Emerson's, and the outlines of the graves could not be traced. The 
sand was yellow and very pure, containing only such stones as the Indians 
had placed in the graves. 

The implements themselves did not differ from those of the Hartford 
and Emerson sites save that there were more plummets than either gouges or 
celts. Only one or two large chipped objects were found. Slate spear points 
were rare and no slate arrow-heads were found. One or two flat, ornamental 



*It is> to be hoped that conditions may be more favorable at some future time. No damage would be 
done to property, for the brook tributary to Dead river and the canal from Toddy pond would furnish 
water enough to restore the present level of the lake in four or five days. 








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46 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



stones were taken out, but ornaments were not common. There was one re- 
markable winged problematical form (lower object in fig. 27) worked out 
gracefully from black slate. I have seldom seen a finer specimen. Fewer 
of the thin hatchet-like blades occurred at Mason's, and they were short 
and slender, or chisel-shaped, while those at Emerson's were compara- 
tively thick. 

The gouges from Mason's cemetery were long and slender, com- 
pared with those from Emerson's or Hartford's, and did not appear to have 
been actually in use. Few of them had the battered top that would be caused 
by driving into wood, and the edges did not appear scratched or worn but 
were delicately sharpened, with grooves very well denned. This peculiarity 
was noticed by my assistant, Mr. Francis A. Manning, who studied the goug- 
es as they were removed from the graves in each of the cemeteries. He said 
that the Mason gouges were sharper and thinner and two or three of them 
exhibited very long slender grooves. He writes in the field notes : 

"From the view point of practical carpenters, this extent of 
groove was not only of no use. but even weakened the cutting end. 
In a way it might have facilitated re-sharpening, but an examina- 
tion of the bit makes it hard to believe that it was ever used in 
work. The thought suggests itself that these finer gouges may 
have been made expressly as offerings to the dead." 

Typical specimens of gouges from the three cemeteries are shown side 
by side in fig. 20, in half size. 

Three interesting and unusual graves were found extending below the 
water level, and it was only with great difficulty that they could be care- 
fully examined. It is my opinion that they all represent intrusive burials of 
later Indians. They are marked 116, 117 and 133 on plan V. At a depth of 
about seventy centimeters in each of them, there was a layer of charcoal 
twelve to fifteen centimeters thick, composed of sticks from one to six centi- 
meters in thickness, which had been completely burned. On this hard layer 
in each grave we suppose a human body had been placed, as we found part of 
a human femur in grave 133 and traces of bone in grave 117. Grave 117 
was found first, lying above a hard bed of burnt sand about two meters in 
length. It contained a cylinder of dark sandstone with a large opening at 
one end and a smaller one at the other, also fragments of buckskin and birch 
bark, some minute copper beads, and what appeared to be decayed bone 
covered with traces of copper. There were also minute scales of red paint 
apparently different from our ordinary ocher, and great quantities of char- 
coal. 

In grave 116 there was some decayed buckskin and a few copperheads, 
together with a mass of coal-black earth. Evidently this black mass is the 
result of decay of some unknown substance, whether hides or fiber, or coarse 




Fig. 14. The trench begun at Emerson's. 




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RED PAINT PEOPLE CEMETERIES 49 

cloth, I am unable to state. In this grave occurred a cylinder of reddish 
sandstone about sixteen centimeters in length, which is shown in fig. 30. 
There was also a large, fine knife of black flint, a material foreign to Maine, so 
far as I can judge. This is about thirteen centimeters in length. Associated 
with these objects were two rough pebbles which, but for their being in the 
grave, one would not suppose to have been used by primitive man. There 
were traces of decayed bones embedded in the black mass, also a few scales 
of some grayish substance. A few bits of brilliant red pigment were taken 
out, which was not the red paint common in other graves, but a different 
substance. The copper^ beads number possibly thirty or forty, and there 
were some minute fragments ,or scales of oxidized copper. It is quite prob- 
able that a greater number of beads were placed with the interment than we 
discovered. Some buckskin, badly decayed, was taken out. 

These two graves contained no objects of the Red Paint People type, 
and no deposits of powdered hematite. Although the ground was very care- 
fully searched for some distance about these graves, and the muck and de- 
cayed charcoal was sorted over by hand, nothing more was discovered 
here. 

On the last two days that we worked at Mason's we employed a force of 
thirteen men, but were unable to find graves in the large space noted on the 
plan between graves 121 and 122, and 119 and 128. For a distance of three 
by eight meters the ground had been almost completely dug out by Mr. 
Johnson, many years before. There was one undisturbed spot in the cen- 
ter, however, when the men abandoned work in this area and continued ex- 
plorations elsewhere. My son, Singleton Moorehead, was interested in our 
work, and although at that time quite young he dug industriously and spent 
most of the day in sinking a pit. Presently he announced that he had dis- 
covered a thick layer of charcoal, and I sent two laborers to assist 
him. 

Just above the water line, something more than a meter below the sur- 
face, was an unusually heavy layer of charcoal, extending horizontally at 
least two meters in all directions. Wood had been burned on the spot, as the 
sand beneath was baked quite hard. A human body had been laid on the 
charcoal, and of the skeleton we secured a fragment of femur nearly twenty 
centimeters in length. There were traces of other bones, but none of them 
could be removed save in fragments . A large quantity of buckskin accompa- 
nied this interment and pieces eight to fifteen centimeters in diameter were 
secured. With the buckskin forty or fifty small copper beads, five to ten 
millimeters in diameter and all very badly corroded, were removed. As in 
the case of graves 116 and 117 we shoveled out great quantities of muck, 
sand, charcoal and mud, and spent hours in working over the material, but 
were unable to discover any implements. 



50 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



Passadumkeag. August, 1912 

At the town of Passadumkeag, about forty kilometers above Bangor, 
the stream of the same name enters the Penobscot from the east, and at 
this point, so the river men say, the river is as wide as at any point above 
Oldtown. That the place was inhabited by Indians in historic times is 
well known. There are numerous indications of this occupation about the 
village. 

Down stream on the west bank about two kilometers below the town 
there was a large camping place, where much pottery and many chipped 
stone implements have been discovered. This site may or may not have 
been of Algonkian culture; we did not examine it thoroughly, but confined 
our exploration to cultures manifestly belonging to the Red Paint People. 

A number of graves had been opened in former times on the flat occu- 
pied by the village of Passadumkeag, and the people told us that red paint 
and specimens were often found there, but we were unable to discover any 
cemetery, although we dug in a number of places in gardens and fields. 

Hathaway's Cemetery 



Four kilometers up the Passadumkeag on the left bank is the farm of 
Mr. S. H. Hathaway. His home is situated on a beautiful knoll twenty me- 
ters above the river and commands a view of the surrounding county. To 
the east and northeast is an immense tract of low land, almost a swamp, 
which was in early days a great resort for moose. The guides Alonzo Spearin 
and George McCain, who were familiar with this region fifty years ago, said 
that some of the best hunting in the State of Maine, years ago, was to be had 
on Passadumkeag stream. 

About thirty meters south of Mr. Hathaway's residence, just above the 
slope of the hill toward the river, we found an interesting cemetery of the 
Red Paint People. It occupied a space fifteen meters square with one grave 
eleven meters farther south, as shown on plan VI. There were no burials, 
so far as we could ascertain, on any other portion of the Hathaway farm. 
We dug extensively but found nothing. 

Except for surface plowing sufficient for planting a garden, the ground 
of the cemetery was in its original condition, hence we were able to carry out 
a proper research. We examined a total of seventeen graves, all but one or 
two of them being within the fifteen-meter square, and we removed some- 
thing like ninety objects. These were larger than the objects found about 
Lake Alamoosook and at Orland and the average number in a grave was 
considerably higher, this being additional indication that the graves had not 
been disturbed. The largest grave contained eighteen objects, one of which 









Fig. 16. To the left, front and side view of long gouge from Hartford's site. 
side view of gouge from Hathaway' s. Size 1-3. 



To the right, front and 






Fig. 17. To left, gouge from Hathaway's site. The narrow edge or bit and flaring center are charac- 
teristic of Red Paint People gouges. S. 1-2. 

To right. Gouge from Hartford s cemetery. The convex cutting edge is referred to on page 107. S. 1-2. 



RED PAINT PEOPLE CEMETERIES 



53 




Fig. 18. Cross section of two graves in the gravel pit north of Hartford's. 



was presented to Mr. Hathaway. Of the entire number of specimens found, 
five or six were given to him, and he promised to preserve them carefully. 

The soil in which the burials were made was a mixture of sand and gra- 
vel. The red paint was found in greater quantities here than at the other 
sites, and it was much brighter. The entire space occupied by the graves 
was plainly discolored, about half a meter below the surface, by this great 
bed of ocher. Originally the amount placed in this cemetery must have 
been at least five or six bushels. We boxed and shipped to Andover upwards 
of a bushel of the bright pigment. 

This cemetery differed from the others in having the graves practically 
all on one level. It is possible that one general pit was excavated and a 
heavy layer of the powdered hematite or ocher spread upon the floor and 
then the bodies laid side by side upon this layer, with the implements placed 
either at the head or the foot or upon the body in each case. To account 
for so many burials being made at one time, it is suggested that in northern 
Maine the frost penetrates the ground in winter to a depth of one or two 
meters, according to the severity of the season, and in a large camp there 
might be many deaths in a winter when it was impossible for the Indians to 
dig graves because of the frozen ground ; hence the bodies would be kept until 
spring and then interred with due ceremony in a common grave. 

The same lack of uniformity in the placing of the objects was noticed 
here as in the other cemeteries. Except in grave 143, where the eighteen 
objects were found lying in a mass and close together, we may assume that 
most of the implements were interred in their original handles or fastenings ; 
but these eighteen specimens must have been buried as unmounted 
blades, for they could not have been placed so compactly had they been in 
handles. Why this was done, we do not know. The graves themselves are 



54 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



not very near together, and if each grave represents one human burial, there 
was space enough without crowding the interments. In some cemeteries 
groups of graves are placed so close together that observers have questioned 
whether they were graves and suggested that they were rather deposits of 

offerings. 

Most of the implements ranged from twenty to thirty centimeters in 
length. The gouges were not only finely made, but most of them were of 
considerable size. None were found as long as the two longest discovered in 
the Hartford cemetery, but the average exceeded those from other sites. 
The plummets were especially well made, no rough ones occurring in the de- 
posit. 

Beside several of the winged stones or bipennate problematical forms, 
there were buried along with the tools curious oval problematical forms such 
as are shown in fig. 35. Sometimes two or more were found in a grave. In- 
cluding the broken ones we found, I should judge, fourteen or fifteen of 
them at Hathaway's site. They are all perforated and most of the holes 
show traces of wear, plainly indicating that thongs were passed through 
them. The largest of these objects shown in fig. 35 is forty-three centimeters 
in length, and others range from twenty to thirty-five centimeters. The 
weight varies from six or seven ounces to a pound and a half. They are too 
slender to have served as weapons, too delicate to be considered pestles or 
grinding stones; their edges are not sharp, and they would be of no use as 
cutting tools. They may be classed provisionally as pendants or ornaments, 
though their weight and size seem to preclude the possibility of actual use 
as such. Just what they are and what purpose they served must remain, 
for the present at least, one of our archaeological problems. 

With the deposits were the usual fire stones, the small pebbles or "lucky 
stones," and frequently a larger smooth stone which may have been used 
for grinding paint, or for some other purpose. From the presence of these 
larger stones at both the Emerson and the Hathaway site, one might infer 
that the small pebbles which we frequently found were not paint grinders. 
As several of them are of bright red or bright yellow material, and as they 
do not appear different in general from the ordinary small pebbles found on 
the shores of the lake, it seems to me probable that they were selected be- 
cause of their color.* 



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RED PAINT PEOPLE CEMETERIES 67 

There were no effigies in these graves, and not a trace of buckskin, of 
human bone, of copper, or of anything else was discovered other than the 
gouges, plummets, celts, and these stones and stone objects of the prob- 
lematical class. 

As in the case of the other cemeteries, Hathaway's was carefully staked 
off and numerous measurements were made in the course of our work. While 
it is well to record all this, and I have done so, yet the measurements them- 
selves contribute little of value to oiir sum of knowledge. The essential 
thing is, that these burials were made in unknown times of high antiquity 
and by a peculiar people. Why such quantities of ocher were placed in 
every grave, passes understanding. It seems to me that to the mind of the 
aborigines this ocher was more than mere paint. If it were considered as 
paint and nothing else, far smaller quantities would have sufficed. Possibly 
we have, in the presence of these bushels of powdered hematite, evidence of 
some unknown ceremony or custom. Whether future explorations will en- 
able us to determine the character of this ceremony, is extremely doubtful. 
The field notes of one of the larger graves are as follows : 

" Grave 143. Fig. 32. The objects in this grave were remark- 
ably closely packed — all touching one another in fact, and paral- 
lel. A very large quantity of pyrites powder was left at east edge of 
group. Several of the objects were very badly disintegrated and de- 
cayed by contact with the pyrites. 

"Order, from top down: Club, 36 cm., lay east-and-west at 
north edge of group. Pendant, 30 cm., was just south, parallel, and 
with perforated end to east; perforated and corroded by pyrites. 
Large gouge.,. 22.4 cm., bit to west under perforated end of pendant; 
small end eaten by pyrites. Decayed triangular celt, 14.6 cm., near 
east limits, bit to west. Large celt, south of others, bit west; this 
was utterly crumbling. Slender gouge, 25.2 cm. under this, bit 
west, groove down. Another gouge, bit east and groove-side down ; 
eaten. Gouge with squared edges next. Large pebble to west of 
group. Celt next, near west limits. Slate pendant under this, 24.6 
cm. long, lying flat, with perforated end to east ; this pendant had 
round and oblong nicks or dents on both surfaces, almost as if in 
imitation of fish scales. One utterly decayed stone object. Also 
one hammer stone and a smooth pebble. There was abundant 
ocher. The top of the mass of objects was about 38.6 cm. from the 
surface." 

Blue Hill — Haskell's Cemetery. 1913 

There were no more Red Paint People's cemeteries opened in 1912-13. 
On June 26, 1913, we went from Toddy Pond to see Mr. Coburn Haskell 
of Blue Hill, who was building a cottage on a narrow neck of land in 







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74 MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 

that town, known as Parker's Point. Graves had been discovered there 
during the digging for the foundation of the house, sometime early in May, 
and Mr. Sugden and Mr. Hutchings had been sent over there soon after the 
discovery and had received permission from Mr. Haskell's architect to carry 
on explorations. Mr. Sugden's party and ours took out some forty graves, 
but the conditions were such that no very satisfactory researches were pos- 
sible, and in this brief report no map is presented, for the reason that the 
work was hurried and much interrupted. Indeed, after two days' explora- 
tion, Mr. Haskell requested me to cease work altogether. 

The cemetery lay well toward the end of the point and was about eight 
meters above high tide. There was a large spring of fine water just under 
the bank near the graves. All the burials were in fine white sand with no 
gravels and no boulders. In this respect the cemetery seems unique. It is 
one of the most interesting of the nineteen Red Paint cemeteries discovered 
since Dr. Hamlin reported the first one in the early eighties, although with 
the exception of the cemetery at Hart's Falls, near Warren, Maine, no other 
has suffered greater destruction. 

There were at least one hundred and fifty and possibly two hundred 
graves or interments on the estate, but all of them except the forty which we 
examined were dug up by the local people, or possibly employees of Mr. 
Haskell, who worked there during the evenings and Sundays until the place 
was thoroughly ransacked, ami the objects found were taken to their homes 
in the vicinity. Mr. Haskell himself had two large boxes filled with various 
implements, including some of the delicate slate spears and daggers. It is 
impossible to determine the number of effigies and crescents, slate spears 
and other objects of high finish and unusual form, discovered by the work- 
men. Counting the objects we have and estimating those in the possession 
of Mr. Haskell and the workmen, it is safe to assume that the graves origi- 
nally contained at least six hundred and possibly seven hundred artifacts. 

As the work was in the interest of science and the Haskell cemetery was 
very important, I felt it my duty to secure from the workmen as many of the 
specimens as possible, in order that they might be preserved in the Phillips 
Academy Museum, although under different circumstances such a course 
would not have been followed. The workmen stated that they intended to 
sell these objects, and we therefore visited a number of the men and secured 
approximately seventy or eighty specimens. Mr. Walter B. Smith of Ban- 
gor also took an interest in saving as many as possible of the objects secured 
by Mr. Haskell's workmen, and some fine specimens in his collection are 
from this site. 

Comparison of the objects from the Haskell cemetery with those found 
in other Red Paint cemeteries shows that the artifacts from this site are 
considerably above those from other places in excellence of workmanship 



RED PAINT PEOPLE CEMETERIES 75 

and in fine finish. A possible exception is Hathaway 's cemetery at Passa- 
dumkeag, but there we found none of the slender slate spears and no effigies. 

In one particular the Red Paint People as a whole surpassed all other 
tribes, ancient or modern, living north of Mexico. From a study of all the 
material from their graves in the several museums, it would seem that this 
people excelled in the manufacture of stone gouges. While some of the 
gouges are rough or crude, others present a symmetry of outline that is ex- 
ceedingly graceful, and many have edges ground as sharp as stone can be 
worked. 

In this art the natives were very expert, but their artistic sense was not 
developed and their stone effigies are very crude. Among those found at 
Haskell's was an effigy of a bear (fig. 37) and several small objects one of 
which may represent a duck (fig. 39), and another a quadruped. The plum- 
mets were also sometimes ornamented or fashioned as effigies. 

In fig. 39 there is a whale plummet found at Hartford's; next is a por- 
poise effigy plummet at the top from Emerson's; below the duck effigy re- 
ferred to, from Haskell's, and next a remarkable little porpoise effigy of red 
sandstone from Hart's Falls cemetery, St. Georges river. In the lower cor- 
ner, to the left, is an effigy (probably a bear) from Haskell's, and a flat per- 
forated stone in the right hand corner from Haskell's. If the plate is turned 
to the right, the object appears not unlike the head of a codfish. 

The Red Paint People seem to have prized slate spears highly. Many of 
them have been found, not only at Haskell's but in other cemeteries. It 
is rare to find broken gouges or adze blades in the ocher deposits; hence the 
presence of broken slate spears and sometimes of fragments of these objects 
not more than six or seven centimeters in length indicates that even the bro- 
ken ones were valued. See fig. 38. A grave containing eight of the slate 
points was fortunately discovered by Mr. Sugden and not by the workmen, 
for otherwise these fine objects would have been scattered and many of them 
doubtless lost. See fig. 40. 

Attention is called to the very fine wide-bladed adze of green slate and 
also to one or two of the other adze blades shown in figs. 41 and 42. 

The paint at Haskell's was not so bright as at Emerson's and the other 
cemeteries. This was probably due to the fact that the burials were in fine 
sand, and as it was easy for water to penetrate to the deposits, the paint 
became dissolved and disappeared. 

It is most unfortunate that the Haskell cemetery was not found before 
the building of the residence on Parker's Point, as in that case it would have 
been possible to record all of the deposits properly. I insert herewith the 
field notes on two of the few graves concerning which complete notes could 
be taken. 

" Grave 167. Forty-five cm. down. Considerable quantity of 

faint ocher. Contained the remains of five long slate spear heads, 



76 MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 

only one of which could be reconstructed entire. The broken sur- 
faces of the others all appear ancient. The largest head when whole 
had a length of about 25 cm. They are all of the usual type — 
flatly hexagonal in cross section near the stem, diamond shaped 
nearer the point. The spear-heads lay in a compact cluster, paral- 
lel, with butts down and points up at a steep angle, pointing due 
north. At some distance occurred two very rude small plummets 
and an oblong pebble. See fig. 38. 

" Grave 169. Forty -five cm. from surface. A celt, 18 cm. long, 
with badly pitted surface and showing contact with pyrites near 
base, lay in the center of the group of objects. It lay nearly flat, 
bit due north. Apparently unfinished plummet, 11.5 cm. long, lay 
due east, larger end even with butt of celt. Rude chipped point, 10 
cm., lay 2.5 cm. southeast of celt butt, pointing northwest. Gouge, 
17 cm. long, in contact with pyrites, lay 20° east of north from celt, 
partly on edge, groove facing northeast. Plummet, 7 cm. long, 
partly under finely chipped point of red flint, 10.7 cm. long, partly 
on edge, with point southwest and under the celt, 2.5 cm. in from 
the butt. Remains of gouge, now 11.6 cm. long, of unusual shape, 
with bit end entirely eaten away, lay under celt, 15° east of south, 
groove down and bit end southeast. Remains of pyrites just off 
bit of this second gouge. Just beyond this lay a plummet, nearly 
spherical and badly corroded. An "iron stone" lay just east, in 
contact. Two plummets, one 7.3 cm. long, lay 14 cm. off bit of celt 
and directly in line, knob 5° west of north." 

•Sullivan Falls Cemetery. 1913 

After our survey of Toddy Pond and the excavation of Haskell's ceme 
tery on Parker's Point, Blue Hill, we moved on July 3, 1913, to Hancock 
Point, on Frenchman's Bay, opposite Bar Harbor, and took up quarters in a 
cottage near one or two shell heaps. 

On July 5, the whole force went to Sullivan Falls, distant about two 
kilometers from the cottage, to examine a cemetery there. It lay at the 
southeast end of a long gravel knoll, or ridge, apparently of glacial origin, 
which slopes up gently from an arm of the sea until it reaches a height of 
twenty or twenty -five meters. 

About thirty years ago the Maine Central Railroad built a spur rail- 
road to the steamboat landing here, and during the deepening of a cut in 
order to lay the tracks graves were discovered and most of them were de- 
stroyed at that time. Mr. Milton Stratton, an architect of Bar Harbor, was 
present during the excavation by the railroad authorities, and he informed 
me that a great many fine objects were then taken out and carried away by 
workmen and others. He mentioned one in particular, a double gouge or 







Fig. 37. The bear effigy from Haskell's site. Size 1-2. 



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Fig. 38. Grave 167. Group of broken slate spears. Haskell's Cemetery. 






Fig. 39. Group of effigies from various cemeteries. S. 1-1. 




Fig. 40. Drawing of the position of the eight long spears found in Grave 163, Haskell's Cemetery. 

S. about 3-8. 



FlG. 41. Left, 50807, fine gouge from Hathaway's. Middle, face and hack of the gouge-adze object 
50625 from Emerson's. Pound in grave 100. Right, back of large green stone blade from Haskell's. The 
face of this is shown in the second object from the left in Fig. 4>2. Size about 1-4. 




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Fig. 42. Group of objects from the Haskell and Emerson Cemeteries illustrating the difference of 
stone objects. Left to right: gouge, long hatchet blade, adze blade, adze blade, gouge, adze (profile), 
slate spear," hoe or digging tool. S. about 1-6. 



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84 MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 

long implement, which he thought must have been at least fifty centimeters 
in length. Near the blacksmith's shop there was a large tub, and the stone 
tools taken from the graves were thrown into this. He said that once or 
twice he noticed the receptacle half full of fine gouges, adze blades, spear 
heads, etc. A few of these objects were recovered and are in the Peabody 
Museum at Harvard, but most of them are lost forever. In this respect 
the site resembles that at Parker's Point, and our observations could not 
be complete for similar reasons. 

We staked off the ground and opened about twenty graves, the ma- 
terial from which proved to be somewhat inferior in character to the arti- 
facts found in other Red Paint People cemeteries. Much of the sand and 
gravel from the original excavation had been thrown over the edge of the 
bank at Sullivan Falls, and the workmen had also made a large ' 'fill" in or- 
der to widen the road over a narrow neck of land. Some of this earth remains 
there at the present time. Five men were put to work with shovels on the 
talus at these two places, and they dug out four or five adze blades and 
gouges and one or two plummets beside considerable red paint. 

Mr. Stratton was of the opinion that the graves were originally in two 
long parallel rows, and the twenty or more which we opened were so placed 
that we concluded his statement to be correct. Between the rows we found 
there was a space five meters in width in which no graves occurred, and to 
the north of our large trench we found no graves for a distance of twenty-two 
meters. There were patches of ocher here and there probably indicating 
that graves had been opened by persons in search of specimens, and a num- 
ber of ash pits were discovered which Mr. Manning noted on his field map. 

We worked for a number of days at Sullivan Falls extending the trenches 
and pits, but could find no more burials or deposits. No graves were found 
in the ash pits except in one instance. Of this the notes state: "Grave 195 
was 48 cm. down, immediately west of the central part of the fire pit. 
Pyrites and an 11 cm. hatchet blade and a 13 cm. adze blade were found. 
No ocher noted. The black layer at the base of the fire pit was 10 cm. below 
the grave, showing that the fire pit was made earlier." We worked out 
the deposits of ashes carefully, but no flint chips or signs of artifacts of 
any kind were to be observed. The purpose of the pits must therefore re- 
main unknown. They were large enough to have served for the storage of 
corn or other food, but we have never in any other place found such caches 
filled with ashes. 

We also excavated the shell heaps at Sullivan Falls carefully, thinking 
to obtain information upon a possible connection between the occupants of 
the shell heap villages and those who buried in the cemetery nearby; but 
the heaps did not differ from others. They are described on p. 156. 

Plan VII shows the situation of the shell heaps and the cemetery, but we 



RED PAINT PEOPLE CEMETERIES 85 

present no detailed plan of the latter because it had been so much disturbed 
that few deposits of objects remained. 

The following extract from the field notes gives details of two graves: 

"Grave 181. 30 cm. down. The first objects encountered, a 
celt in two pieces several cm. apart and a smooth pebble, were 
separated by a space of about 30 cm. from a second group of objects, 
closely packed and at the same level, consisting of a crescent and 
two other pebbles. The crescent, with a large central perforation, 
lay on end. At the same level but 35 cm. south occurred five plum- 
mets. Two large and unusually well wrought ones lay with axes in 
a straight line north and south, the northern one with its knobs 
north, the southern one, knob south. At right angles and 5 cm. 
east of southern one lay a third large plummet, with knob west. 
These three all lay flat. In the angle of these lay a small flat plum- 
met rudely chipped from red jasper, perforated instead of knobbed. 
It was nearly on end, perforation up. Due north was the fifth 
plummet, of ordinary type but smaller than the first three. It was 
on end, knob up. Another small plummet found in this grave near 
the crescent group was remarkable for having a double groove 
around the knob." 

" Grave 183. 35 cm. down. The objects were closely grouped. 
A gouge 17 cm. long with about 1-4 or 1-3 of its length broken 
sharply off, lay groove up, north west by south east, bit north west 
and higher than butt. Nearly parallel was a smaller gouge-adze 14 
cm. long^ distant 10 cm. to the south west, bit in opposite direction 
from first gouge. A deeply notched slate point 9.5 cm. long, point 
north west and flush with ends of gouges, lay between these two. 
A grooved pebble, groove down, lay a few cm. southwest. Much 
staining of soil by pyrites, northeast by east of cluster, distant 15 
cm. A very remarkable plummet with a perforation at either end 
and with four rough faces having longitudinal rows of small, 
irregular depressions, lay flat, 25 cm. north of group. A small gouge 
apparently fragmentary, and a small perforated pebble lay with 
first group. Under these objects occurred a gouge 17 cm. long, with 
an unusually broad and very finely wrought cutting edge, some- 
what worn. It was much caked with pyrites, the iron having 
cemented it with the earth and pebbles. There also occurred under 
these objects two very large masses of badly disintegrated pyrites, 
one nearly spherical and measuring 11 cm. in greatest diameter. 
The sand and stones around and under these lumps were colored 
yellow and cemented into a compact mass in a radius of 15 to 20 
cm. There were also some hammer stones and pebbles." 



86 MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 

The details of the two ash pits are also presented herewith. Fig. 43 
shows the larger one.* That they were contemporary with the Red Paint 
graves is probable, but we could not find a close connection as did Willough- 
by at Ellsworth. 

"Large fire pit (this is shown in fig. 43). The heavy white 
layer (of ashes) in this pit was 2.25 meters across on its long- 
est axis north west by south east. Below this white layer were two 
strata of black earth, 5-8 cm. thick and at a distance from each 
other varying from 10 to 30 cm. The upper layer of black earth 
averaged 1.75 meters below surface. The gravel was very much 
caked all about and under the white layer. The two black strata 
were deepest down near the center of this pit, but were on the 
whole irregular." 

"The fire pit just north of grave 187 presents the usual fea- 
tures. The caked gravel at its deepest extended 1 meter below 
the surface. A section across the workings, parallel to base line, 
north west and south east, 10 m. long and 1 m. deep, shows these 
features. From the south east end fine gravel for 1.5 m.; coarse 
gravel, commencing at bottom of trench and reaching surface, 2.5 
m.; very small ash pit 1.5 m. from south east end; at 5.5 m., in coarse 
gravel, ash pit 60 cm. across, 30 cm. down; at 7 m. a still smaller ash 
pit; from here the coarse or intermediate gravel extends to north 
west end of trench. The gradation and bedding of the gravel 
seem all to be of natural origin." 

GEORGES RIVER. 

Hart's Falls Cemetery 

While we were at Castine in 1915, Mr. Sugden and Mr. Taylor visited 
the Georges River, or St. George's River, between Rockland and Warren in 
Knox County, and reported that there were several collections in that re- 
gion which contained implements of the Red Paint People types. Accord- 
ingly on the 8th of August I went over there with some of the men and we 
found, on a high ridge overlooking Hart's Falls on the Georges River, a dis- 
turbed cemetery. We put down thirty or forty pits here but found nothing 
except a few plummets and a gouge. The graves appeared to be one to 
two thirds of a meter deep, but it was impossible to make proper observa- 
tions, as the place had been thoroughly ransacked. The formation is pe- 
culiar, as the hill is covered with large boulders from one to two meters in 
diameter. 



Dr. I Y;i body's cane shown in the photograph, is 92 em. long. 



RED PAINT PEOPLE CEMETERIES 87 

Tarr Cemetery 

Dr. John Alden, a direct descendant of the famous John Alden, and a 
dentist in the town of Union, was familiar with the region and had made a 
large collection from Red Paint graves in previous years. He accom- 
panied us for a few days on a tour of the Georges valley and took us to sev- 
eral sites. We examined knolls along the river as far up as the town of 
Union. Not far from Union, on the Tarr estate, in a hillside about two 
hundred meters from the river, we found another disturbed cemetery of the 
Red Paint People and opened some twenty graves. This place had been 
much ransacked by Dr. Alden and other collectors and we did not make a 
map of it. The soil was sandy loam but rather free from stones. The graves 
were shallow, usually about one third of a meter in depth. Fifty or sixty 
objects were secured, which will be used later for exchange purposes. Eight 
or ten graves were found complete and undisturbed and their contents were 
carefully recorded and preserved. They do not differ practically from other 
Red Paint People types and it is not necessary to describe them here. 

Stevens Cemetery 

Following a suggestion of Dr. Alden we examined a high knoll over- 
looking the Georges River halfway between the town of Union and Warren 
in August, 1915, and found an undisturbed cemetery there, on the land of 
Mr. George Stevens. This was a most welcome discovery, as all the other 
cemeteries found by us except Hathaway's at Passadumkeag had been 
more or less disturbed. 

The hill or ridge on which this cemetery was situated lies along the right 
bank of the river for about two hundred and fifty meters east and west, and 
has a crest or higher portion about one hundred and thirty meters long, 
which slopes off to low, swampy ground on the west. 

As our season was near an end, I employed local labor on this work in 
addition to the regular force in order to expedite matters, and we thus had a 
total of fourteen men at work up to August 22. When we obtained permis- 
sion from the owner to dig, the men were assigned places ten or fifteen meters 
apart on the crest of the ridge, and by means of their test pits, graves 214 
to 217 were immediately discovered on the western slope.* As soon as 
graves had been found, the men were moved to this part of the hill and 
started a trench. The trench was ten meters wide at the western end and 
extended twenty-six meters toward the east, increasing to seventeen meters 
in width. 

The workmen dug out practically the whole ground in eleven working 
days, and the total amount of excavation was equal to a trench thirty-six 

* References to plan VIII will show that graves a little west of the center have lower numbers 
than others. This is because the test pits were sunk before we knew the exact position of the 
cemetery. 





























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STEVENS CEMETERY, WARREN, MAINE. 

«.>. INDICATES THAT WITHINTHIS AREA THE RED PAINT SEEMED 
TO HAVE BEEN SPREAD EVENLY. 
8.8. INDICATES THE LAVER OF HARD SAND. 

CC.TME FIRE PITS. T-7TTT 

THE SOUARES INDICATE METERS. PLAN 1/ I I I 

DRAWN BY E.O.SUGDEN. 
192.0. 




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90 MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 

meters in length and twenty meters wide. All our pits extended down to 
undisturbed ground or hard pan. Some of the graves were found as far down 
as a meter or a meter and a half below the surface. We do not think that the 
cemetery extended more than forty meters in any direction, but there may 
be a few graves remaining on the slopes where the owner did not wish us to 

dig- 
In this cemetery, unlike other Red Paint cemeteries, the burials were 

not made in sand and gravel with occasionally a boulder or stone near, but 
they were made for the most part in heavy, coarse gravel and frequently 
had great boulders twenty to forty centimeters in diameter lying upon 
them. The hill is distinctly of glacial formation, being more nearly like 
Mr. Willoughby's mound at Lake Alamoosook than any other burial site 
that we have discovered.* It contains here and there spots two or three 
meters in diameter where the sand is finer and the gravel small. (On the 
field map, plan VIII, Mr. Sugden has indicated one place where there was 
very hard sand extending for over five meters along the west side of our 
trench.) There was also a long layer of fine sand, which although it offered 
a simpler problem of excavation, few graves were found in it and the Indians 
seem for some reason to have preferred the deposit of gravel and boulders 
for digging their graves. Numbers of the graves extended under the boul- 
ders. Either the objects were placed under and around the large stones as 
they occurred, or the stones were placed on top of the graves after the bodies 
had been laid in the ground. This is especially evident in grave 224, dug 
out by Mr. Taylor, which contained twelve large boulders, twenty or thirty 
centimeters in diameter. They appeared to be arranged in a rude circle. 
On the left (northwest) there were four on top of one another, on the right 
three more, and in the center five directly on the buried objects. 

As the site was undisturbed and everything presumably in its original 
position, we did much of the excavating with the hand trowels, which en- 
abled us to work very carefully and to make observations in detail. J Many 
strays, or objects either lost or purposely thrown in after the graves were 
partly filled, were picked up. Two small, beautifully wrought crescents 
found by Mr. Hutchings, which lay about fifteen centimeters below the sod- 
roots, were numbered as coming from grave 236, but they may have been 
strays, or their being found together may indicate the presence of another 
grave nearer the surface, although there was no red ocher. We have else- 
where, especially at the Emerson cemetery, referred to the presence of a few 
stray objects here and there as indicating disturbed graves, but since they 

* Plan IX shows elevation of the ridge. 

X We took the usual photographs, but found when the films were developed at Andover that 
something had been wrong with the camera and they were unsuccessful. Fortunately my son had 
made numerous drawings, and these we have. Usually we make drawings as well as photographs, 
for the sake of protecting the records in case the camera fails. 



RED PAINT PEOPLE CEMETERIES 91 

were found also in the Stevens cemetery, which had not been explored and 
where there had been no heavy plowing, it seems possible that these so- 
called strays were placed on the site intentionally. 

Near the grass roots but not in the graves and never more than nine 
centimeters from the surface, were found numerous chips of chert, quartz, 
and felsite, but in the graves themselves there were no objects chipped from 
quartz. In fact, with one or two possible exceptions, we have never ob- 
served projectile points or knives made of quartz. One fragment of pottery 
about two centimeters in diameter, was found eight centimeters below the 
surface, in the sand. 

The men examined the ground about the deposits very carefully, in or- 
der to ascertain the outlines of the original excavations, but it was impossible 
to determine their measurements, except in the case of one or two in fine 
sand.* 

About one hundred and twenty meters south from the cemetery, in Mr. 
Stevens' orchard, there was a small circular ridge similar to a circus ring. 
The earth in this circle did not appear to be different from the surrounding 
soil, but Mr. Stevens said that when he was a boy his father told him that in 
his own younger days the ridge was more prominent, the ground inside was 
hard and packed, and the place was called " the Indian dance ground." We 
estimated this tradition to date back about eighty years. Mr. Hutchings 
dug a large pit in the center of the so-called dance ground, but as he found 
only broken bricks, ashes, and pieces of crockery, we concluded that it was 
the site of an old dwelling. This incident is mentioned here as an illus- 
tration of the many traditions concerning Indian occupation of the land. A 
survey likeours has to spend much time in following them up but most of 
them when investigated do not yield results of any value. 

Five fire pits were found scattered about the crest of the hill, some of 
them outside the area of the cemetery but others lying above very deep 
graves. This was the case at graves 252, 255 and 263, in the eastern half of 
the ground. Excavations in all of them revealed only black earth, char- 
coal, etc. It was not difficult to trace the size of the pits, containing as they 
did masses or layers of charcoal. They varied from one and three quarters 
to two and one quarter meters in diameter. We concluded that where they 
occurred, an unusually deep pit was first dug; in the bottom were placed the 
ocher, the stone objects, and probably the body of the deceased; sand or 
gravel, earth or stones, making a protecting layer, were next placed; then 
the remainder of the pit was filled up with charcoal and ashes, whether the 
actual burning took place in the pit or not. If the ash or fire pit had been in 
existence first, and the natives' dug through it to bury the ocher and ob- 



* The position given for a grave on plan VIII is that of the deposit of stone objects. The 
ocher often extended some distance from this spot, in one direction or another. 



92 MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 

jects beneath, as some have thought, we should expect to find some char- 
coal mingled with the red paint, but this is seldom or never the case. 

As this was an important cemetery, owing to its undisturbed condition, 
we include here descriptions of several of the graves, taken chiefly from the 
field notes. In general we did not find many plummets in this cemetery, 
and the small rubbing stones and the so-called "lucky stones" were not in 
every grave. 

" Grave 231 . This lay about 82 cm. deep in some brown ocher. 
It contained a small stone and three spears in a space about 20 cm. 
by 25 cm. The spears lay flat, the longest one pointing north, the 
other two east and north east. Between graves 230 and 231 was an 
elevation or ridge of hard, compact sand, commonly known as 
"hard pan." The two graves had been dug down at either end of 
this hard pan, apparently penetrating a part of it, and a consider- 
able quantity of heavy gravel and boulders must have been re- 
moved in making them; but their position suggests that the very 
hard sand made an obstacle that the Indian did not attempt to dig 
into. We could not trace the exact dimensions of these graves, al- 
though we spent considerable time in an effort to do so." 

" Grave 255. This grave lay near or under the edge of a fire pit 
and was the deepest of any that we found, being down about 1.80 m. 
It contained much red paint, a quantity of which was saved; a 
long gouge, grooved, blade north; a spear head pointed south, and 
a rubbing stone; a plummet with the head south; a long gouge on 
the side, pointing south west; another rubbing stone and a gouge 
blade west: all of these objects were in a space 45 cm. by 50 cm. 
Outlines of the fire pit could be observed. 

"Grave 270. Eighty cm. below the surface we came upon a 
large deposit of ocher extending over a space 80 cm. by 90 cm., and 
nearly 5 cm. thick. It was not so bright as ocher found in other 
cemeteries but we saved a box of it. There was a gouge, hollow 
side up, blade north; a plummet, head north; three rubbing stones 
placed in a triangle ten centimeters apart; and some pyrites. In 
taking out the ocher at the western edge of the grave another gouge 
was found, hollow uppermost, blade north. 

"Grave 232. This was under a very large boulder about 40 
cm. long by 30 cm. wide and estimated to weigh 200 pounds or 
more. It required the services of two men to lift it out of our ex- 
cavation. It was waterworn, oval, and had a slightly jagged end 
which protruded from the ground about 5 cm. Two other good- 
sized boulders were placed on the edge of the grave to the north. 
Under the large rock and about 42 cm. below the surface of the 
ground were seven objects in a space about 30 cm. by 20 cm. They 



RED PAINT PEOPLE CEMETERIES 93 

all lay with their heads up and cutting edges down except the gouge 
farthest north. There was some red paint but it was not bright. 

"Grave 263. This was another very deep grave, being under 
a fire pit and at the same depth, 1.80 m., as the other two similarly 
placed. We noticed a slight depression in the surface of the 
ground above this grave, which is unusual in our experiences. One 
meter from the surface was a heavy layer of charcoal about 9 cm. 
in thickness and 32 cm. below the top of the layer was the red 
paint. There were three gouges, two hammer stones and a rubbing 
stone." 

" Grave 224. This is the grave surrounded by twelve stones or 
rocks of various sizes, as described on p. 90. The level on which 
the lowest rocks rested was 82 cm. below the surface of the ground, 
but the rocks that were piled up on either side reached 60 cm. or 65 
cm. above this level. The width measured across the top was 60 
cm. The grave contained a gouge and a hatchet blade, both 
pointed northeast and lying flat side up, and upon removing the 
lower rocks we found another fine gouge with the top or poll up 
and the cutting edge or bit turned down; also a natural curved 
stone, an adze blade pointed west and a thin hatchet blade, flat 
side up, edge to the west." 

Oldtown — Godfrey's Cemetery. 1918. 

Mr. Fred Godfrey of Oldtown owns a plot of land lying along a slope on 
the west bank of the Penobscot, distant about two hundred meters from the 
water's edge and overlooking Oldtown Island, or Indian Island. Many years 
ago while engaged in planting trees, Mr. Godfrey found one or two Red 
Paint People graves, and being an amateur collector of Indian specimens he 
carefully preserved their contents. In subsequent years he found from two 
to four graves every season, until he had accumulated two hundred and ten 
objects, all of which are of the well-known Red Paint People types. 

Several of us visited Mr. Godfrey's place in August, 1918, and assisted 
him in excavating five or six remaining graves. Including these, he esti- 
mates that he has opened some forty or forty-five graves. Their depth was 
similar to those found in other cemeteries, thirty to sixty centimeters. Most 
of the graves seem to be surrounded by ten, twelve or even fifteen large 
boulders which weigh from forty to one hundred pounds each. Several 
flat slabs occurring with these were thought by Mr. Godfrey to be placed 
intentionally, one at the head and one at the feet of the body. In two of 
the graves which I observed and assisted in opening these flat slabs were 
present, but it did not seem to me that they represented stones placed at 
the head and feet, although they were certainly somewhat different from the 
ordinary boulders placed in an irregular circle around the deposit. 



94 MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 

No traces of bones were found, although we searched diligently with 
hand trowels. The objects found were of the same type as in other Red 
Paint cemeteries except that there were fewer of the long slender slate spears 
or daggers. There were a few plummets but not many chipped implements. 
The adze blades were large and fine and there was a considerable number 
both of the long, perforated and of the bipennate or double-winged prob- 
lematical forms. Mr. Godfrey had found more of the oblong rubbing 
stones, or tool sharpeners as he called them, than occur in other cemeteries. 
There were a few pieces of iron pyrites. The red paint was not so brilliant 
as has been found elsewhere. 

Beyond question there is also a Red Paint People cemetery on Indian 
Island, belonging to the Penobscot Indians, for numbers of the persistent 
types have been found by the Indians when they made excavations for 
fences or buildings, but they control the whole island and will permit no 
excavations by outsiders; so I was informed by the leading Indians when I 
requested authority to examine this island. The Indians took an interest in 
our work, and several of the older ones visited Godfrey's while we were 
there. 

I include here observations on two of the graves on Mr. Godfrey's 
farm that were first opened by our party. 

"Grave 279. This lies on top of the subsoil just below the sur- 
face of the present wagon road. Apparently many graves were de- 
stroyed when the road was built or filled in to a depth of 20 cm., but 
this one lay a little deeper. The red paint, which was a little faint 
in color, was about 2 cm. thick and extended something over a 
meter in each direction. On top of it in the center was a very large 
scraper or small hoe, about 11 cm. in length. There were also four 
roughly chipped knives of chert, one large flake knife with serrated 
edge, and a tube slightly flattened on one side, worked out from a 
narrow piece of banded slate, one half being dark and the other 
light. Heavy boulders lay scattered about. 

''Grave 276. This lay east and west, extending for almost 2 
meters. There were eleven rocks or waterworn boulders surround- 
ing the objects or placed in two irregular rows beside them, with 
their tops 35 cm. or 40 cm. below the surface. The space between 
the two rows of boulders was about 47 cm. at the east end and 60 
cm. at the west end. There was considerable red paint. Near the 
west end was a gouge about 12 cm. long, placed in a sloping posi- 
tion. There was a broken ornament on edge; also in a sloping posi- 
tion a long gouge lying in the red paint with blade west; and a 
curved adze blade, point west. Below this grave and extending 
down to a depth of about 80 cm. were five or six large rocks, col- 
ored red by the ocher. These were sloping and from 20 cm. to 30 



RED PAINT PEOPLE CEMETERIES 95 

cm. apart, occupying a square space 1.5 meters in diameter. Be- 
tween these in the red paint was a white quartz arrow point 5 cm. 
or 6 cm. in length, a large adze blade and a gouge. The rocks and 
ocher beneath grave 276 may indicate a separate deposit, and 
there seem to be enough objects in the two deposits to constitute 
two graves, but the position was such that it was impossible for 
me to determine whether we should consider that there were two 
graves or one." 

Winslow — The Lancaster Cemetery. 1919 

In the town of Winslow, which is on the east bank of the Kennebec op- 
posite Waterville, Mr. Fred Lancaster had erected a saw mill on his farm 
and in the summer of 1919, when he dug the pit for a large circular saw, 
he opened one or two Red Paint graves. A Mr. Kelliher, engaged in the 
clothing business in Waterville and owner of a collection of Indian speci- 
mens, went out to the site and was joined there by Mr. William W. Taylor 
of Boston, who had accompanied me on two or three of my expeditions, and 
by a Mr. Denton, also of Boston. Mr. Taylor persuaded the other two to 
telegraph to me to come and take charge of the cemetery, and I received 
their telegram and a letter on the day in September when the Connecticut 
River Archaeological Survey, which I had been carrying on, had ended its 
labors just below Springfield, Mass. 

I went immediately to Winslow and on my arrival the site was turned 
over to me. About eight graves had already been opened. I put ten men at 
work in the interests of the Bangor Historical Society, since the Phillips 
Academy fund was exhausted. All the specimens found were first studied 
at Andover and then shipped to Bangor, where they are now on exhibition 
in the fireproof building of the Public Library and can be seen there by vis- 
itors. 

The cemetery occupied a space about thirteen by seventeen meters on 
a knoll one hundred meters from the Sebasticook River and not more than 
seven, meters above the level of the water. The ground was very hard and 
stony. We opened some thirty graves, of which twenty were under the saw 
mill. As the mill is about thirty meters long and very heavy, it was impos- 
sible to move it, and it was necessary to place blocks on solid stone founda- 
tions under it, before we could excavate. Then the men had to do most of 
the digging either sitting down or lying on their sides, so that the work was 
accomplished under difficulties. There may be a few graves left under the 
gasoline engine or heavy parts of the machinery which it was not advisable 
to undermine because of danger to the men. 

The graves did not differ essentially from those of other cemeteries but 
they seemed to be nearer the surface, and the red ocher was to an unusual 
extent spread at a uniform depth. Thus on one side of the cemetery it 



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L ANCASTER CEMETERY, 
WINSLOW. MARINE 

THE LINE A A. INDICATES THAT W|T'-,N THIS AREA THE RED PAINT SEEMED 
TO HAVE BEEN SPREAD EVENLY 

THE SQUARES ARE SQUARE METERS 
DRAWN BY E.OSUGDEN. NOV. 19/9, 



REDPAINT PEOPLE CEMETERIES 97 

seemed to extend in a regular layer for a distance of seven or eight meters 
and then there was a clear break, or what would be called in geology a fault, 
before it was resumed. My attention was called to this by Mr. W. B. Smith, 
formerly of the United States Geological Survey and much interested in ar- 
chaeological matters. He examined the break carefully and said that it in- 
dicated a shifting of the land and was not recent; that it was not due to any 
excavating done by the Indians but might have been caused by a landslide 
or by an earthquake. I frequently discussed with Mr. Smith the difference 
between the Red Paint graves and later Indian interments. In the former 
there is a noticeable re-stratification ; the graves are so old that a re-forming 
of gravel layers has set in and it is difficult to trace the outlines of the exca- 
vations; while in Algonkian graves the lines of disturbance are very plain. 

The regularity of the depth of the ocher layer in certain places through- 
out this cemetery suggested the possibility that a certain area was dug out 
and cleared and the layer of ocher laid down uniformly before the burials were 
placed upon it, as it is not reasonable to suppose that the Indians would dig 
so many graves separately, all to exactly the same depth. This method 
may have been adopted, as suggested on p. 53 in discussing Hathaway 's 
cemetery at Passadumkeag, when the remains of those who died in the 
winter were kept until the ground thawed in the spring. 

The contents of the graves showed some minor peculiarities. There 
were few plummets, only six or seven occurring in the whole cemetery, and 
there were few of the long fine gouges, while no effigies or crescents were 
discovered. Not many hammer stones were found, and iron pyrites or fire 
stones occurred in only three graves. The adze blades and hatchet blades - 
were with two^exceptions smaller and shorter than those found elsewhere. 
There were a number of chipped spear heads of the dark flint and red flint 
which sometimes occur, but none of felsite, the so-called Kineo stone. There 
were numbers of the beautiful, long slate daggers or spears, seven being 
found in grave 329 and a single one in another. I present illustrations of 
these in fig. 46, made from Mr. Sugden's drawings. One is a trifle over forty- 
five centimeters in length, and is the longest one ever found in a Red Paint 
grave. We took from the graves also a number of spear heads of translucent 
quartzite, that peculiar unidentified material which is common in Labrador 
but has never been found in a natural state, a ledge or boulder, in the State 
of Maine. We obtained six or seven of these translucent spear heads, some 
of them large but one or two small enough to be classed as arrow heads. 

In all of the cemeteries careful search has been made for fragments of 
bones. A few scales were discovered at Hathaway's and at Emerson's, but 
they were so small that they could not be identified. It was therefore grati- 
fying to find in grave 318, in the Lancaster cemetery, at a depth of thirty- 
five centimeters, burnt bones and fragments of unbumed bones. One or 
two of the larger fragments seemed to us to be portions of a human skull. 





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Fig. 46. Five slate spears ftom Lancaster's cemetery. Size shown. 



100 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 




Fig. 47. Large adze blade, Lancaster's Cemetery, Grave 326. S. 1-3. 



They were examined by Mr. Willoughby, who also thought they were hu- 
man, and at his suggestion they were given to Dr. E. A. Hooton of Harvard 
University for further examination. I append his letter giving the findings. 

"Jan. 9, 1920. 
Dear Mr. Moorehead, — 

"I have examined the lots of bones that you left at the Museum 
and have secured as a check upon my findings the opinion of Dr. 
Glover M. Allen of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. Dr. 
Allen and I concur in the opinion that all of the remains are hu- 
man, with the exception of a few isolated fragments. I have been 
able positively to identify specimens from the various lots as fol- 
lows: 

"No. A. These bones are pretty certainly human, but the frag- 
mentsare so small that it is almost impossible to identify the various 
parts. There are, however, several small fragments of the human 
brain case and other fragments of long bones. 
''No. B. Calcined remains of a human right temporal bone, includ- 
ing (1) the mastoid process; (2) portion of posterior and inferior 
wall of external auditory meatus including part of the vaginal pro- 
cess and anterior half of stylo-mastoid foramen; (8) fragment of 
petrous portion, including part of internal auditory meatus and 
base of jugular fossa; (4) anterior internal portion of glenoid fossa 
with part of spheno-temporal suture; (5) another fragment of mas- 
toidal portion of same temporal bone. Remaining fragments 
probably human, but too small for positive identification. 
"No. C. The bones contained in the chunk of limonite may or may 
not be human. I am unable to say. 

"No. D. This lot contains, in addition to the human bones, a cou- 
ple of bones probably of a large fish. All of the bones have been 
subjected to the action of fire. The human bones consist of- (1) 
distal extremity of left ulna, probably female; (2) part of the head 
and neck of a humerus ; (3) a metacarpal bone. These bones appear 
to be the remains of one individual, probablv an adult female. 
No.— .Unlabelledlot. (Whitish bones). Several small fragments 



OBJECTS FOUND IN RED PAINT GRAVES 101 

of a human skull vault (calcined), probably portions of parietal 

bones. The remainder of the pieces I am unable to identify with 

certainty. 

"Sincerely yours, 

"E. A. Hooton." 

In July, 1920, we went back to Lancaster's cemetery, as there was a 
persistent local report that many graves remained unexplored. We dug ex- 
tensively and found seven or eight unimportant deposits. We also exam- 
ined the Indian village site along the river and the more modern Algonkin 
burial ground whieh is described on p. 214 of this book. 

Oakland — Wentworth's Cemetery, 1920 

While the Survey was examining the Belgrade Lakes system in July, 
1920, we met a Mr. Peavy who had dug up gouges and adze blades of the 
Red Paint People type on a ridge now occupied by a modern cemetery in the 
town of Oakland, at the foot of Messalonskee Lake. We visited the place 
but could not carry on excavations because they would have disturbed the 
modern graves. It is distant more than a kilometer from the nearest water, 
and this is the farthest from stream or lake that any Red Paint cemetery 
has been found. 

The men continued prospecting in the neighborhood and learned that 
Mr. Charles Wentworth had plowed up gouges and other tools in his gar- 
den. His land is in the western part of the village of Oakland on a high 
ridge which overlooks the outlet of Messalonskee Lake on the south and to 
the north west faces an extensive low marshy place, about a kilometer dis- 
tant, which was once a lake. The cemetery lies on the north slope of this 
ridge, about one hundred meters from the bed of the stream which once 
drained the bog, and sixteen meters above the level of the water. From the 
shores of Messalonskee Lake to the cemetery is about two hundred meters. 
Wentworth's cemetery lay about twelve kilometers west of Lancaster's, and 
is the farthest west of all that have been discovered up to the present time. 

We made arrangements with Mr. Wentworth to explore the ground 
as soon as his potatoes were large enough to be taken up, and we found some 
sixty graves or deposits of ocher. About half of them contained either no 
objects or very few. These were the shallow graves, often within twenty or 
twenty-five centimeters of the surface. Here the ocher remained but the 
artifacts had been plowed up and removed. 

No plan of the cemetery is presented here because so many of the graves 
had been disturbed. In this connection the local history of the spot may be 
mentioned. Mr. Wentworth had found numbers of artifacts during the ten 
years that he had owned the property. A Mr. Tozier who lived on the same 
farm for twerity-five or thirty years also plowed up numerous stone tools. 
The original owner, a Mr. Hutchings, had occupied the farm forty or fifty 



102 MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 

years. Most of his family had died, but one very old lady visited the scene of 
our explorations and stated to me that when she was a girl, Mr. Hutchings 
frequently found Indian specimens in the garden and that large numbers 
had been carried away by different persons. 

This must originally have been a large and important cemetery. We 
did not excavate all the graves because Mr. Wentworth had corn and beans 
planted on the west part of the land and did not wish us to dig there, al- 
though there probably are graves extending under the corn. The deeper 
graves that we opened contained from eight to fifteen objects each. It would 
be impossible to state an accurate average, but I would estimate that if the 
graves all contained from eight to ten objects each, there were originally 
some five hundred and fifty stone tools placed in the ground by the Indians, 
of which we recovered a trifle over two hundred. 

The cemetery is interesting from the fact that it is not continuous. Be- 
ginning somewhat down from the crest of the hill and working up, we found 
graves at regular intervals for ten or twelve meters; then there was a space 
of fifteen meters in which there were but one or two graves. The burials 
began again to the east of this vacant part and extended about twenty me- 
ters farther to the south east. Twelve of the graves in this part of the ceme- 
tery were on the adjoining property owned by Mr. P. H. Russell. West 
from the extension on the Russell estate there were more graves. Whether 
objects were found when the foundations were dug for the house and barn 
fifty or sixty meters southwest from Russell's cemetery, we were unable to 
ascertain. 

It is not necessary to show any of the objects taken from this ceme- 
tery. In grave 326 was an unusually large and fine adze blade. The edge 
was very thin and sharp. It is worked out very carefully, the sides beveled 
and one of the finest examples of art in stone from any of the Red Paint People 
cemeteries. Excepting this adze blade, the gouges, celts, and other tools 
were smaller than those from the Penobscot Valley sites. There was only 
one slate spear head and this was different from the long ones found in other 
cemeteries being flat and thin instead of hexagonal in cross section. Six or 
seven implements chipped from translucent quartzite or Labrador stone oc- 
curred, two of which are shown in fig. 48. Hammer stones were not common 
and in some graves there were no fire stones. The red paint was not es- 
pecially bright. 

B. Detailed Study of Objects Found in Red Paint Graves 

In the preceding pages we have described the Red Paint Cemeteries ex- 
plored by the Phillips Academy expeditions and have referred to a number of 
sites investigated by others, notably by Mr. Charles C. Willoughby, Direc- 
tor of the Peabody Museum of Harvard University. f 

t See note 2, p. 13. 



THE ALAMOOSOOK UNIT 103 

Before drawing our conclusions as to the Red Paint People's culture, we 
must make a careful study of the implements, ornaments, and other ob- 
jects found in the ocher deposits, since with the possible exception of the vil- 
lage site near Bangor explored by W. B. Smith,* the cemeteries and the ob- 
jects found in them are our only source of information about the Red Paint 
People, and it is only by having a complete analysis of the types found, that 
we can make use of our knowledge.** 

The stone implements may be roughly classified as follows : 
Gouges. Large with oblong or angular groove 
Large with V-shaped groove 
Slender or chisel-shaped 
Adze blades. Triangular or ridge-backed 
Ordinary or almost flat 
Knobbed 
Plummets. Oval 

Elongated oval 
Effigy 
Ornaments. Long pendants 

Small perforated stones 
Problematical. Bipennate, short wings 

Crescents 
Slate spears or daggers. 

Large, hexagonal 
Small, flat 
Chipped objects. 

Spear heads 
Arrow heads 
Knives 
We shall discuss these classes of implements as found in the different 
cemeteries, grouping the latter in units according to locality. 

The Alamoosook Unit 

The Hartford, Emerson and Mason cemeteries may be considered to- 
gether because of their proximity.f The three present some characteristics 

* As this village site is at least partially Algonkian, the description of it is given on pp. 134-143, 
just before our discussion of the relation between the Red Paint People and Algonkians. 

** Tables have been prepared which show all the dimensions of the stone tools or artifacts from 
the graves, and the cards are available for students of implement technology. Such detailed records 
are too lengthy to be inserted in this report, but they are the basis of the statements in the follow- 
ing pages. 

t The objects found by Mr. Willoughby in excavating graves in the Soper's Knoll on the north 
side of Lake Alamoosook in 1892, are on exhibition in the Peabody Museum at Cambridge. They 
present essentially the same types in stone as those found by us in the same region, except that there 
are no crescents and not such a preponderance of plummets. The adze blades are large and ot fane 
workmanship, but there are no specialized gouges, adzes or plummets. 



104 MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 

in common, chief of which is the occurrence of specialized or double gouges, 
more of these having been found at Emerson's and Hartford's than else- 
where. 

Gouges. The average gouge from the cemeteries in general is quite 
different from forms found on Algonkian village sites, being slender rather 
than broad, with the hollow or gouge depression short and frequently angu- 
lar or oblong in outline, but sometimes V-shaped or tapering to a sharp 
groove five to twelve centimeters from the cutting edge. The second one 
in fig. 41 shows this peculiarity of the Red Paint People gouges. A small 
gouge in fig. 50 was found at Stevens cemetery and it is more nearly like the 
common Algonkian form. The latter are rather broad; the groove is car- 
ried further up — sometimes three fourths of the stone's length — and is 
seldom of an angular shape. 

The number of narrow chisel-like gouges found at Emerson's and 
Hartford's is surprising. Some of them are worked down to an end one 
centimeter in diameter, and in one case even less than one centimeter across 
the blade. An interesting narrow gouge is no. 50276, which is 12.5 cm. long, 
3 cm. wide at center, 2 cm. thick, cutting edge 11 mm. wide. This specimen 
was broken, scales having been knocked off the back for a distance of 8 cm., 
over one half the length of the stone. The natives had re-ground the gouge, 
removing the rough edges due to the break. The top is battered. 

The longest gouge found in the eastern United States up to October, 
1921, is no. 50266, from grave 15 of Hartford's cemetery. See fig. 16, left. 
Its measurements are: 37.5 cm. long, 4 cm. wide, 4 cm. thick. Another long 
gouge, no. 53061, was found at the same site during the second exploration. 
It is slightly shorter than the one described but of the same form. The tops 
or polls of most of the larger and finer gouges are not battered, whereas the 
more ordinary tools have battered tops, indicating that when in use they 
were hammered, probably with a wooden mallet. 

Several small gouges were taken from the three Alamoosook sites. One 
which is both thin and small measures 5.15 cm. long, 2.75 cm. wide, and 
9 mm. thick. It was in an unusual deposit, in grave 17 of Hartford's ceme- 
tery, with an effigy plummet, a hollow concretionary formation filled with 
red paint and other objects. Other small gouges are shorter and thicker. 

A few of the gouges were "hump-backed," that is, having a profile sim- 
ilar to the adze blade shown at the top in fig 51. 

Attention has been called to the very fine edges observed on the gouges 
from Mason's cemetery. The same is true of a number of specimens from 
Hartford's. Several of the unusually well made gouges from Mason's are so 
identical in form as to suggest that they are the product of one individual. 
These are slightly convex in outline at the center of the cutting edge. Ob- 
serve the middle gouge in fig. 20, slightly squared at either side of the blade, 
rounded out in the center. The groove does not extend to the edge of the 








Fig. 48. Projectile points of the clear quartzite or Labrador stone, from various Red Paint Ceme- 
teries. Size 1-2. 





Fig. 49 Large knife and projectile points from various Red Paint Cemeteries. Size about 1-2. 



THE ALAMOOSOOK UNIT 107 

stone but occupies the middle portion, while a part of the original surface 
of the stone remains on either side of the groove or gouge depression. The 
same peculiarity of outline is found in many smaller gouges from Stevens's, 
Tarr's and other sites. 

Two very unusual specimens were found in disturbed graves at Em- 
erson's cemetery, one of which, the knobbed gouge shown in fig. 50, is unique, 
no other gouge like it having been found anywhere in the United States. 
It is no. 50507 and came from grave 68. It lay twenty-five centimeters 
below the surface, but we did not find it in its original position and there 
was no ocher near. Probably the other objects in this grave were scattered 
at the time Dr. Hamlin and Mr. Soper did the plowing referred to before, 
and this specimen was overlooked at that time. It measures : length, 21 cm., 
thickness 4 cm., greatest width, 4.5 cm., width at cutting edge 3 cm., width 
at top 2 cm. Its peculiarity is the eight knobs or projections worked in high 
relief. The top is slightly injured and the face at the top projects slightly, 
not in a well-defined ridge but as if a slight depression or groove had been 
started across the stone just below the top. The lower part is polished for a 
distance of six centimeters from the bit or edge, and from this point to the top 
of the specimen the surface is pecked but not polished or even ground. The 
gouge-groove is rather shallow. 

The other unusual specimen from Emerson's cemetery is the combina- 
tion tool, gouge at one end and adze blade at the other, shown in fig. 41. It 
was found in grave 100 and is no. 50625 in Phillips Academy catalogue. It 
is made from a slab of hard green slate and is very highly polished. It meas- 
ures: length 32.5 cm., width of back at center 5 cm., width of gouge end 
5.3 cm., width of adze end 3.6 cm. The front is flat, along the back is a flat 
ridge, 1 cm. to 1.5 cm. wide, extending 20 cm., and it is beautifully bevelled 
from this angular elevated back down to either side. The top or adze end 
is bevelled down to an angular cutting edge. The left-hand view shows the 
groove, gracefully tapering and extending half the length of the tool. As 
this implement did not conveniently lend itself to fastening in a handle, it 
must have been used unmounted. The only similar tool recorded is the one 
mentioned on page 76 as found at Sullivan Falls many years ago and ob- 
served by Mr. Stratton. Mr. Stratton says the tool he saw was nearly 
double the size of the one here described. Originally our specimen must 
have lain in a heavy deposit of ocher and pyrites, as it is much discolored, 
but it had been disturbed by the plow and it lay above the ocher and about 

34 cm. to one side. 

Adze and Hatchet Blades. Figure 42 illustrates the difference between 
the forms in our classification of stone tools. It shows a group of eight ob- 
jects: three adze blades, one in profile; a wide hatchet or celt-like imple- 
ment; two gouges; a slate spear and a hoe or digging tool. Fig. 51 presents a 
profile view of four adze blades from the Emerson and Haskell sites. Most 



108 MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 

adze blades are angular in profile and some are ridged or bevelled from end 
to end, while a few have a knob or projection on the back. The one below 
in Fig. 51 is a typical angular or bevelled shape; the one at the top is 
knobbed or "humpbacked. " Others are highly specialized, such as the un- 
usual specimen shown in fig. 47, which was found in Lancaster's cemetery 
and is one of the best examples of work in stone by the Red Paint People. 
It js 32 cm. long, 6.2 cm. wide across the blade and 6.66 cm. wide across the 
top. 

These heavy, angular objects have been classified by Mr. Willoughby 
and others as adze blades, and probably they were used as such.* The 
broad, thin blades were probably used as war hatchets or as chopping and 
cutting tools. Some of these are large, notably the second one from the left 
in fig. 42, from Haskell's cemetery, which is about 30 cm. in length, but thin. 
It is made of banded slate and is highly polished. Many of the hatchets and 
adze blades show high polish and considerable use, and as in the case of 
the gouges, the tops or polls of the rougher ones are battered owing to ham- 
mering, while the specimens exhibiting better workmanship are seldom bro- 
ken at the top. The hatchet blades vary from the large ones described above 
down to those only 10 cm. in length. One small, narrow, chisel-like object, 
7 cm. long and only 7 mm. wide, was found in the earth thrown out during 
the excavation of Hartford's cemetery. It probably had been in a grave. It 
is the smallest object found by us in the four hundred and forty graves 
opened, and will compare with the small chisel or celt blades found in shell 
heaps along the coast. The true celt, the thick, oval form common on ^lgon- 
kin Indian village sites, has never to my knowledge been found in any Red 
Paint grave. There are a few tools that approach that type, but they are 
not exactly of the well known celt form. 

In fig. 10 is a group of objects showing chiefly the average hatchet 
blades from the graves. Attention is called to the fact that nearly all the 
cutting edges are square or angular. After once studying these Red Paint 
People artifacts, one can affirm with certainty that they do not, as a class, 
occur elsewhere in the United States. 

Plummets. Many plummets were found in the cemeteries of the Ala- 
moosook unit, some graves containing as many of these objects as of tools. 
Mr. Willoughby also found them in numbers in the mound which he ex- 
amined near Emerson's location. The ordinary forms of plummets from va- 
rious sites are shown in fig. 52, four of these specimens being from Hartford's 
and Emerson's and four from Haskell's and Sullivan Falls. Beside the com- 
mon plummets, some specialized forms were found at Hartford's. Of this 
class is the whale-like specimen, no. 50277, shown in fig. 39, which should not 
be classed as an ordinary plummet. Its measurements are: length 6.75 cm., 

* See "The Adze and the I'ngroovod Axe of the New England Indians," Ainer. Anthrop., 
Vol. IX, 1907, p. 296. 








Fig. 50. Front and side view of knobbed gouge (50507) from grave 68 at Emerson's. Size about 
1-2. Gouge from Stevens' Cemetery (Scale about 3-5). Introduced for comparison. See page 107. 






Fig 51. Profiles of hump-backed adze blades from Emerson's and Haskell's. S. about 3-7. 



THE ALAMOOSOOK UNIT 111 

width 3.75 Cm, thickness 2.25 cm. This and the other shapes in fig. 39 may- 
be classed as. effigies rather than plummets. The Red Paint People did not 
make very clever effigies and these objects seem to mark the extent of their 
artistic ability. Several plummets of considerable size were taken from the 
Alamoosook sites, some of which are in the Andover collection. When stud- 
ied these are seen to have one side intentionally flattened, so that they rest 
in one position, while the ordinary round plummet will roll about. The same 
feature is found in several of the larger plummets 12 to 17 cm. in length, in 
the collections at Salem and Cambridge, which are not from Red Paint 
graves. This flattening of one side gives us some light on the possible use of 
these objects. It would add nothing to their usefulness as sinkers, but if 
they were so worked in order that they might be set in a certain position, 
the charm, effigy, or problematical theory of their purpose seems to be more 
correct. Two of these large ones are presented in fig. 53. 

Problematical Forms and Pendants. In the three cemeteries composing 
the Alamoosook unit there were none of the long, perforated pendants or 
problematical forms, such as occur at Godfrey's and Hathaway's sites, but 
we did find two or three of the bipennate stones and several shorter orna- 
ments of the Hathaway types. One of the bipennates shown in fig. 54 is 
practically of the same character as several found in the two cemeteries just 
mentioned. Two of the slender pendants are shown in fig. 55. The Red 
Paint People made use of very crude as well as finely finished ornamental 
stones, and one of those shown in the above figure is from the Sullivan Falls 
cemetery. They are ordinary thin sandstone slabs, crudely fashioned and 
perforated. 

Crescents have been found in most of the cemeteries with the exception 
of Wentworth's and Lancaster's, and they form a most interesting series. 
Two are shown in fig. 27, two others in fig. 54, and one in fig. 58, is from 
grave 121 of Sullivan Falls. 

A careful consideration of the problematical forms from these graves 
has led to the conclusion that the bipennate, crescent, and long pendants 
are very old forms of ornament in stone.* 

Chipped Objects. Numbers of chipped stone objects were found in the 
Alamoosook unit, some small but most of them too large for use as arrow 
heads. Figs. 48 and 49 present some of these artifacts from the Alamoosook 
and other sites. There are no marked local differences in the shapes. The 
majority are projectile points with barbed or shouldered tops, for use as 
arrow or spear heads. The points are generally narrow and the shoulders 
not pronounced, the simpler stemmed forms predominating, although three 
barbed specimens are among those shown. It is seldom that a knife is found, 
but one such exception is shown in the large object in the center of fig. 49. 



See "Stone Ornaments," etc., by W. K. Moorehead. Andover, 1918. 



112 MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 

This is 25cm. long, 6.8 cm. wide at the base, 8 cm. across the middle, and 
7 mm. thick in the middle, and is worked out of a block of Kineo felsite. It 
was found by Mr. Soper, together with two other similar blades, in a large 
quantity of red paint about three hundred meters north east of the outlet of 
Lake Alamoosook. This was not a cemetery but an isolated grave. We dug 
pits for some distance about the spot but could find no other deposit. Next 
to this knife, the largest chipped object found, a spear head, occurred in 
grave 74 and is numbered 50535. It measures 17 cm. in length, and 5 cm. in 
width. It is unusual to find more than one or two chipped objects in the 
same deposit, but in grave 14 at Hartford's three long chipped projectile 
points lay in the ocher. They are nos. 50261, 50262, and 50263, and measure 
respectively: 19 cm. x 3.9 cm. x 11 mm.; 12.9 cm. x 3.3 cm. x 13 mm.; 11.8 
cm. x 3.5 cm. x 9 mm. In fig. 48, all the specimens are made of a variety of 
translucent quartzite which is known to exist in Labrador but at present 
writing has not been found in situ in the State of Maine. The geologist, 
Mr. W. B. Smith, has searched in Maine for a deposit but has been unable to 
find one. 

Polished Slate Spears. The Alamoosook unit produced very few of the 
long slender slate spears or daggers. The one shown in fig. 24, in position in 
a grave at Emerson's, is the only one found intact, although there were some 
fragments. As there were long slender spear points taken from the graves 
at Bucksport, Ellsworth, and Blue Hill, by Mr. Willoughby, Mr. Woodcock, 
Mr. Haskell, and others, it seems strange that, with four Red Paint cemeter- 
ies on the shores of or near to Lake Alamoosook, practically none of these ob- 
jects were placed in the graves there. However, there were many short spear 
points, most of them exceedingly well wrought and highly polished. In figs. 
57 and 58 a number of these objects from several different cemeteries are 
shown together, as the types are the same everywhere. Of the twelve shown, 
five are from Emerson's cemetery, three from Stevens's, and one each from 
Sullivan Falls, Hartford's, Wentworth's and Haskell's. The narrow, thin 
forms in fig. 57 came, two from Emerson's and one each from Haskell's and 
Sullivan Falls. There appear to be few if any of these objects from the graves 
in Godfrey's and Hathaway's cemeteries, up the Penobscot. The small 
spear heads are broad and flat, the longer ones narrow and usually hexag- 
onal in cross section, seldom flat. With few exceptions all the slate spear 
heads are delicately worked out, great care being exercised in their manu- 
facture. The larger ones are wrought out of the best ribbon slate. Fig. 58 
shows the finest specimens taken from the graves, except one found at 
Winslow in the Lancaster cemetery, which is now in the collection of the 
Bangor Historical Society. The specimen shown in the upper left corner 
in fig. 58 has a grooved and notched top, such as has not been observed in 
other examples. 

Stones, Pebbles, Grinding Tools, etc. Reference has been made a number 




._ 







Fig. 52- Series of plummets from the cemeteries. S. about 2-3. See page 108. 



114 



M A I N E ARCHAEOLOGY 



of times to the large stones that sometimes occur beside the grave or deposit 
One of these is shown in fig. 23, which represents grave 61 of Emerson's cem- 
etery, as it was found. Two sides of this rock were stained red by the ocher. 

In proportion to the number of graves found at Mason's, the bright 
colored pebbles two or three centimeters in diameter, the so-called "lucky 
stones," were rather numerous. As they show no signs of artificial fashion- 
ing they were apparently picked up by the natives along the beach because 
the color attracted them. Similar pebbles found at Godfrey's cemetery 
showed signs of abrasion, but the Emerson and Mason stones did not. 

In Hartford's site were several of the thin flat sandstone or shale rub- 
bing or smoothing stones and also a few larger and thicker stone slabs. 
Some of these are perhaps large enough to have been used to grind corn on. 
In this cemetery as well as at Emerson's, but not at Mason's, there were a 
number of very rude and rough objects of stone. These have been observed 
in other cemeteries, particularly at the Tarr site on Georges River. In the 
same cemetery there would occur graves containing objects carefully 
wrought and polished and also interments with which there were very few 
implements and these of coarse and crude manufacture. 

From the tabulation of the details of all these objects little more was 
learned than from a general study of the collection. The exact use of many 
of the specimens perhaps will never be known, as no one has seen them 
hafted and in the hands of their Indian owners. Experiments should 
however be made at some future time, with these tools inserted in various 
kinds of handles. From such a study many details of interest and value to 
science might be obtained. 

The Ellsworth Unit 

The cemeteries at Sullivan Falls and Blue Hill (Haskell's) and the 
Ellsworth site explored about thirty years ago by Mr. Willoughby may be 
taken together as forming the Ellsworth unit. The last named is approxi- 
mately the same distance from Lake Alamoosook as from Blue Hill, but the 
presence of slate spears seem to relate this site culturally more closely with 
the latter. Sullivan Falls seems somewhat different from the others, but as 
at least four fifths of it had been dug out during the railroad operations re- 
ferred to above, our comparisons cannot in any case be exact. We found 
there no long slate spears and no large objects, no perforated stones or 
problematical forms, while only one or two crescents were secured. Our 
field records of Haskell's cemetery are greatly inferior to Mr. Willoughby's 
at Alamoosook, because, as explained on page 28, it was not possible for us 
to make detailed observations. We will confine our text and illustrations 
here to noting the differences between these three sites in general and other 
areas and sites, the reader taking it for granted that the ordinary types 
found at Alamoosook occur here also. 



THE ELLSWORTH UNIT 115 

The Sullivan Falls specimens are stained by yellow ocher, which pre- 
dominated there. Much of the decayed pyrites, of which there was a great 
deal in all the Sullivan Falls graves, was also a bright yellow. Some of our 
graves at Orland and one of the Ellsworth graves show the presence of 
yellow ocher instead of red, and Mr. Willoughby has expressed the opinion 
that this yellow powder may be due to decay of iron pyrites. Many of the 
pebbles containing iron are yellow or have turned yellow upon disintegra- 
tion. 

The striking feature of Haskell's cemetery was the number of long 
dagger-like slate points. We have on exhibition at Andover eleven per- 
fect ones, six half lengths, and three broken ones of which a third of the 
length remains. The Bangor Historical Society has a perfect one. Mr. 
Haskell had at the time of our exploration some three or four, the workmen 
two or three, and Mr. Smith has recovered several, hence we may assume 
that the Haskell cemetery originally contained as many as thirty and per- 
haps more of these delicate objects. 

Next to the slate points, the size and symmetry of the adze and hatchet 
blades should be noted. Some of these have been shown in connection with 
the Alamoosook specimens in figs. 42 and 51. 

The Ellsworth unit produced not a few interesting plummets. Four 
of the more ordinary shapes from Haskell's and Sullivan Falls are shown in 
figs. 52 (nos. 52378, 52460, 52524, 52531) and all specialized plummets in 
figs. 59 and 60. The one on the lower left (fig. 54), from Sullivan Falls, sug- 
gests a human trunk.* Dotted lines and grooves seem to have been the fav- 
orite decorations at Sullivan Falls. At Haskell's there were doubly grooved 
plummets and also the globular form shown in fig. 52 at the top. A 
peculiarity was noted in the Hathaway plummets, the groove or neck being 
unusually wide, whereas in most plummets it is a deep, narrow cut or 
line. 

Inspection of the figures scattered through this report will show that 
the objects classed as plummets and effigies might be arranged in a single 
series with no sharp line of demarcation, although the extremes would be 
clearly differentiated. The same is true of certain other types or artifacts. 
A graduated series of objects, carefully selected, may begin with one well- 
established type and end with another. Hence one observer will classify a 
grooved or notched stone as a plummet and another student consider it a 
small pendant or effigy. 

The Bangor Unit 

Under this head we include Godfrey's cemetery at Oldtown, the W. B. 
Smith village-cemetery site above Bangor, and two sites on the Passadum- 



* Probably the workmen at both these sites discarded many plummets and natural concretions, 
thinking them to be ordinary stones. 









f iG. 53. Two large plummets. One to the right from Stevens', the other from Hartford's. Size. 5-7. 




Fig. 54. Six objects from the cemeteries. At the top, to left, one of the digging tools or hoes. These 
are never found in the graves. Below a specialized plummet from Sullivan Falls. At the top, to the 
right, a crescent from Sullivan Falls; belowa specialized plummet from Haskell's; next a flat, perforated 
crescent (thin sandstone) from Hartford's. Lower right hand corner pennate form from Emerson's 
S. 2-3. 




Fig. 55. Three small, thin, sandstone ornaments and a long needle-shaped object from Hartford, 

and Sullivan Falls Cemeteries. S. 1-2. 




Fig. 56. The longer slate spears from Emerson's, Haskell's and Stevens' Cemeteries. Attention is 
called to the one at the right which is unfinished. S. 2-3. 



120 MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 

keag, Hathaway 's and the sand-pit cemetery described below. Of the four 
the second is by far the most important and it is treated of at length in our 
conclusions as to the Red Paint People. See p. 134 to 143. 

The sand pit is in a long ridge composed of very fine clear sand, on the 
north side of Passadumkeag stream, about a kilometer above the village of 
Passadumkeag. A number of graves were once found here by men engaged 
in hauling sand, and Mr. Marks, who was present when this discovery was 
made, secured five gouges of different forms from any previously known. 
They are nos. 50976, 50977, 50978, 50981 and 50991 in the Andover cata- 
logue. We saw several more of these thin, beautifully wrought gouges in 
the possession of a Mr. Whittier when we were at Passadumkeag in 1912. 
All these gouges possess very graceful curves and lines. They were made of 
selected slabs of a fine hard sandstone and each tool, after shaping, was 
given a high polish. The three largest are shown in fig. 61. They all have 
very sharp edges and in two of them the groove is V-shaped, being exceed- 
ingly wide at the cutting edge and narrowing almost to a point at the top. 
Forms so different from those found in other Red Paint graves seemed to 
indicate a special development in gouge making among the people who 
buried in this spot, and prompted us to make further diligent search. We 
dug many holes, but could find no more graves in the sand pit. 

A number of gouges of very fine green slate and light green granite 
were found in the Hathaway cemetery. The workmanship was of the same 
general character and the tools were apparently made by a few individuals. 
No such definite statement can be made of any other cemetery, but Hatha- 
way's, being concentrated and undisturbed, presented an opportunity not 
found elsewhere, for detailed study of local characteristics. Careful exam- 
ination of the gouges, ornaments and other objects, in their technique of 
pecking, polishing and sharpening, and especially in their form and outline, 
material, etc., clearly indicate that the individuals who made use of them 
followed certain definite patterns and processes. While not wishing to go 
too far in drawing conclusions, the writer is of the opinion that we have here 
the results of skilled workmanship, the objects being apparently made in one 
village and perhaps by members of one clan or family. Figs. 16, 17, 35 
and 41 show some of these artifacts. There were a few rough tools at 
Hathaway's, but the average excellence was much higher than in other 
places, excepting Blue Hill, which is in a class by itself. 

This cemetery at Passadumkeag lay near enough to Godfrey's at 
Oldtown to be treated in conjunction with it. In both of them the dom- 
inant feature was the number of long, perforated problematical forms, [such 
as have been discussed on p. 54], Mr. Godfrey found twenty-one in his 
cemetery. Six from the Hathaway site are shown in fig. 35, about one 
third size. No. 50816 is of fine-grained sandstone. It was found in grave 
150 together with two others, one of which varies from the prevailing type in 



THE ST. GEORGES RIVER UNIT 121 

being convex on one edge and straight on the other, while the third one was 
smaller. These forms are usually slender, seldom broad or oval. These 
long pendants seem to occur chiefly in graves where there are large stone 
tools, and have not been found at sites where small stone objects predom- 
inate, such as Stevens's, Emerson's, Tarr's, or Sullivan Falls. An exception 
is Blue Hill, where many finely wrought large objects occurred in most of 
the graves, but there were none of the forms just described. 

These pendants have been thought by some to be tool-sharpeners or 
special rubbing or polishing stones, but the materials of which they are 
made are too frail and soft to serve satisfactorily for grinding, and careful 
inspection of the surfaces fails to reveal any hollows or depressions due to 
continuous rubbing. They are also not stout enough to give the heavy 
blows necessary in fighting or in hunting, without breaking. On the whole, 
the term ornament may most appropriately be applied to them. Like all 
other objects found in Red Paint Graves, they are in no special position, 
and we can obtain no clue to their use from this source. If the skeletons had 
been preserved, it is quite possible that one might get some light on this and 
other mysteries, through the relative position of objects upon the arms, 
breast, or other parts of the body . 

Adze blades were common in the Bangor unit but not many of the 
smaller, thin hatchet blades or celts occurred. Godfrey found numbers of 
chipped objects on his site but we observed that they were scarce at Hath- 
away 's. We found two bipennate forms and Mr. Godfrey obtained five from 
his graves. He lists in his catalogue a bird stone, sixty-one gouges, eight 
adze blades, three hatchets, and various small hard pebbles, plummets and 
other forms. 

In the Hathaway graves there was so much ocher, both red and yellow, 
that a great many of the objects were badly disintegrated. There was more 
ocher here than in any other of the cemeteries examined by our survey. 

THE ST. GEORGES RIVER UNIT 

The three cemeteries in the Georges River valley, Hart's Falls, Tarrs, 
and Stevens's, all lie within ten kilometers of each other, making this unit 
more concentrated than any other except that at Lake Alamoosook. There 
is not much to be said with reference to the specimens found except that the 
implements from the Tarr and Stevens cemeteries and most of those from 
Hart's Falls were rather small, being below the general average in size. 

Hart's Falls cemetery was dug out some twenty years ago by Dr. Alden 
and a Mr. Leach. No record of their excavations was kept but some inter- 
esting things were found. A fish effigy made of fine-grained sandstone, 
shown in fig. 39, is probably the best aboriginal carving from any of the Red 
Paint People graves. One of the long slate daggers or spears shown in fig. 62 
is also from Hart's Falls. They are almost too broad to be classed as spear 





Fig. 57. Tlie smaller slate, projectile points indicating for the most part high workmanship. From 

various sites. S. 1-2. 






Fig. 58 Specialized slate spear points, both large and small, a crescent and a problematical 

form. S. 5-8. 



124 MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 

heads. The larger one has a well developed handle which fits the hand most 
conveniently. It was probably used as a hand weapon and not hafted. This 
one is 30 cm., the other 23 cm. long. Both are highly polished and very care- 
fully wrought into form. 

An unfinished slate spear from Stevens's is shown in fig. 56 at the right. 
It has been chipped out but not ground or polished. This is wider than the 
average slate spear and somewhat shorter, being 23 cm. in length. When 
finished it would not have been of the hexagonal type, but of the flat va- 
riety. The broken spear next it, no. 59147 from Hart's Falls, is also flat. 
Of the other two in the group, from Emerson's and Haskell's cemeteries, 
the one at the right is hexagonal. Attention is called to the differences in 
the tops, to their notches near the shoulders, and the form of the bases. 

In Stevens's cemetery there were some small slate points similar to 
those shown in fig. 57. Small hatchet blades preponderated rather than 
large adze blades or large gouges. There was one very large plummet per- 
forated at one end and grooved at the other which is shown in fig. 53, to- 
gether with a similar object from Hartford's. It is 18 cm. in length and 8cm. 
in thickness, the neck being 4 cm. broad. Numbers of crescents with some 
small effigies and unusual forms in ornaments occurred on this site. Fig. 58 
shows one of the problematical forms found here. It is a small stone with 
eight perforations for which we can assign no other use than ornamentation. 
Another is a long awl-like object perforated at the top and shown in fig. 63. 
The others are an animal head and a peculiar diamond-shaped plummet. 
These forms probably indicate individual fancy and manufacture on the part 
of the native and cannot be classified as types. 

A few centimeters below the sod in the Stevens and other cemeteries 
were found several broad tools of the form shown in the upper left specimen 
in fig. 54. We took them to be stone hoes that were used in digging the 
graves. None of them were ever found in the graves themselves. 

There is little to add to these brief observations on Stevens's cemetery, 
since the prevailing forms are of the same character as those described on 
preceding pages. 

The Kennebec Unit 

This comprehends Lancaster's cemetery in the town of Winslow, 
Wentworth's cemetery at Oakland and a cemetery in Waterville on the 
bank of the Kennebec, which was destroyed some thirty years ago. Some 
objects from the Kennebec cemetery are exhibited in the Peabody Museum. 
They include a number of long perforated ornaments and a long, light 
spear of granite, angular in section and measuring about 31 cm. in length. 
It is not very well made, only the point and part of the shaft being fully 
worked, the handle left rough. The other objects shown are practically the 
same as those found in the Lancaster and Wentworth sites. 



REVIEW AND CONCLUSIONS 125 

Review and Conclusions 

In our descriptions of cemeteries and types of artifacts we have present- 
ed various observations which bear directly on the culture of the Red Paint 
People. These should now be summed up and some special observations 
made upon the peculiarities of this culture so far as we are able to determine 
them after an examination of many graves, and upon its relation to other 
aboriginal cultures of North America. 

From all that the writer of this report can ascertain, the credit for the 
original discovery of this peculiar culture belongs to a citizen of Maine, Dr. 
Augustus C. Bfamlin of Bangor. He was much interested in the history of 
the state and nearly fifty years ago he discovered numbers of stone imple- 
ments imbedded in deposits of brilliant red ocher. In the early eighties at a 
meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, he 
called the attention of the late Professor Frederick W. Putnam, of Har- 
vard University, to these burials, and Professor Putnam, realizing the im- 
portance of the discovery, detailed his assistant, Mr. Charles C. Willoughby 
to investigate. Between 1888 and 1892 Mr. Willoughby went to Maine 
and excavated the three cemeteries to which we have often referred, — one 
near Bucksport, another on Lake Alamoosook, and a third at Ellsworth — 
all lying within a radius of twenty-seven kilometers. 

Nearly thirty prehistoric burial places have now been discovered or are 
known to have existed in the State of Maine, which must be classed together 
because of the similarity of culture which they present. The people to whom 
they belong have been named the Red Paint People, as explained above, 
because the most conspicuous feature of their culture is the use of pow- 
dered hematite or red ocher in considerable quantity, with each interment. 
In the case of graves discovered and destroyed many years ago, we often 
have no other evidence of their character than the tradition of red paint, 
but when the contents are preserved, the occurrence of certain types of stone 
artifacts, showing only local variation in manufacture and distribution, is 
an almost equally important ground for our classification. Less tangible 
but still important evidence is the appearance of great antiquity in the 
graves themselves and in their contents. This condition can be fully appre- 
ciated only after long and close observation on the spot. It includes the 
almost complete disappearance of human remains, the disintegration of many 
of the stone implements as well as of the iron pyrites, and the absence in 
most cases of any clear outlines* of graves or pits, due to the re-stratification 
of the gravel or other soil in which they were dug. 

The belt or area occupied by the known Red Paint People cemeteries is 
about one hundred and ninety-five kilometers north and south and one 
hundred and twenty-five east and west, from Mt. Kineo to Frenchman's 
Bay and from Sullivan Falls to Oakland. There may be others beyond these 











FlG- 59. Specialized plummets from the various cemeteries. Some of them are decorated with 
incised lines, notably the one in the center on the left. A drawing is presented of this in fig. 60, full size. 
In the lower left hand corner is an imitation of a deer's foot. S. about 5-8. 



REVIEW AND CONCLUSIONS 127 

limits, but up to the present writing we have not been able to find any. None 
were discovered in the St. Croix and Grand Lakes region or on the middle 
St. John, although we observed a typical sand-stone pendant, some thirty 
centimeters long, in the possession of a doctor at Princeton on the St. 
Croix. Whether the culture will be found to extend east of the Machias 
valley and into New Brunswick and Nova Scotia is problematical. No 
work has been done in that section. 

We give below the names of twenty-three Red Paint Cemeteries of 
which there is some record, with data as to when and by whom they were 
excavated, and where the objects found are preserved so far as is known. A 
few other cemeteries are known which have not been explored. In the case 
of three, permission to do this cannot be obtained from the owners of the 
land. Probably there are others in localities where farmers have plowed up 
the well known types. We have prospected in many such places but were 
never able to find the exact spot where burials had been made. 

The total number of graves opened by the Phillips Academy survey at 
twelve sites is approximately four hundred and forty. The estimated total 
for the twenty-three cemeteries is fourteen hundred and forty. This 
estimate, apart from the writer's personal observation, is based upon con- 
versation with witnesses who had been present when the sites were opened 
and upon comparisons between the number of graves found in undisturbed 
sites and the total number of ocher deposits in disturbed sites, where many 
traces of ocher are found near the surface without any buried objects. 

It would be impossible to state accurately the total number of objects in 
the conjectural fourteen hundred and forty graves, but as a conservative 
estimate I would suggest an average of five objects to each grave, making a 
total of seventy two hundred artifacts and other objects. The correct num- 
ber may be more or possibly less. 

List of Red Paint Cemeteries, arranged by locality: 
Kineo Hotel site, Mt. Kineo. A few graves found many years 
ago. Destroyed by hotel workmen. 

Wentworth cemetery, Oakland 1920. Phillips Academy. Most 
of the objects are in Dr. J. H. Wilson's Museum at Castine. 

Kennebec cemetery, Waterville. Destroyed thirty years ago. 
A few objects in Peabody Museum. 

Lancaster's cemetery, Winslow. 1919. Bangor Historical So- 
ciety. 

Pemaquid Pond cemetery, Pemaquid. Destroyed twenty-five 
years ago. Arthur Phelps. Some objects in Peabody Museum. 

Hart's Falls, Georges River. Opened many years ago by Dr. 
Alden and Mr. Leach. Two hundred objects in possession of A. C. 
Gannett, for Fort Weston Museum, Augusta. 

Tarr's cemetery, Warren. 1915. Some taken by visitors. 
Phillips Academy. 




Fig. 60. Full size drawing showing markings on the plummet referred 
to in fig. 59. From Haskell's. 



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60 

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60 

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60 

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60 

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130 MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 

Stevens's cemetery, Warren. 1915. Phillips Academy. 

Sand pit cemetery, Passadumkeag. Destroyed about twenty 
years ago. Some objects in A. E. Marks collection at Phillips 
Academy, others lost. 

Hathaway's cemetery, Passadumkeag. 1912. Phillips Acad- 
emy. 

Godfrey's cemetery, Oldtown. 1890-1919. Fred Godfrey and 
Phillips Academy. 

Village cemetery site above Bangor. 1913-1916. W. B. 
Smith. 

Center of Bucksport town. Many graves found fifty or more 
years ago. Destroyed. 

Blodgett's tannery, Bucksport. 1891. C. C. Willoughby. 
Some objects in Peabody Museum. 

Holway's cemetery, Orland village. 1893. A. E. Marks. 
Some objects in Phillips Academy Museum. 

Hartford's cemetery, Orland village. 1912. Phillips Acad- 
emy. 

Soper's knoll cemetery, Lake Alamoosook. 1892. C. C. Wil- 
loughby. Peabody Museum. 

Emerson's cemetery, Lake Alamoosook. 1912. Phillips 
Academy. 

Mason's cemetery, Lake Alamoosook. 1912. Phillips 
Academy. 

Ellsworth cemetery, a mile above town. 1893-94. C. C. Wil- 
loughby. Peabody Museum. 

Ellsworth Falls. About 1910. Destroyed by road builders. 
A few objects saved by W. B. Smith. 

Haskell's cemetery, Blue Hill. 1913. Phillips Academy. 
Largely destroyed by workmen. 

Sullivan Falls cemetery, Frenchman's Bay. 1913. Phillips 
Academy. Largely destroyed in digging a railroad cut, about 1885. 
The following table shows the number of known specimens from Red 
Paint graves in the United States. The figures in many cases estimates 
rather than accurate statements, but the general total may be accepted as 
not less than six thousand. How many have been lost, we do not know, 
but I think the percentage of preserved artifacts to the total number found 
is unusually high. 

Phillips Academy Museum, Andover, Mass 1720* 

W T alter B. Smith, Brewer, Maine 880 

State Museum, Augusta, Maine 650 

*Some of these have since been sent to other museums. 







Fig. 62. To the right, long, slate, dagger-like object from Hart's Falls Cemetery; to the left, 
smaller implement from Holway's site at Orland. S. 1-2. 





Fig. 63. Four interesting objects, 50675, a cup-like concretionary formation from Mason's; 
a ring-like object Emerson's; (50734) long, perforated stone needle, lower right hand corner, from 
Stevens'; and a curious claw-shaped object at the top, use unknown, from Stevens' Cemetery. S. 6-7. 



W. B. SMITH PAPER 133 

Bangor Historical Society 650 

Peabody Museum, Harvard University 350 

Maine Historical Society, Portland 150 

Fred Godfrey, Oldtown 210 

Dr. J. Howard Wilson's Museum, Castine 200 

Fort Weston Museum, Augusta 200 

Museum of the American Indian, New York 125 

Coburn Haskell, Blue Hill, Me 100 

R. G. Hazard 60 

George F. Johnson 90 

Knox Co. Historical Society, (Thomaston) 28 

Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. 50 



5,463 

The striking feature of this culture is the large quantity of powdered 
hematite, apparently brought from the great natural deposit at Katahdin 
Iron Works in central Maine. Mr. James C. Graham of Phillips Academy 
has analyzed the hematite from graves at Sullivan Falls and Lake Alamoo- 
sook and from the natural deposit on the mountain side at Katahdin Iron 
Works. The Katahdin hematite contains 74% ferric oxide; Emerson cem- 
etery, 55.4%; Sullivan Falls, 57.43%. This shrinkage of 17% to 19% is 
natural, since the hematite in the graves is more or less mixed with earth 
and was transported presumably in Indian canoes some two hundred kilo- 
meters. Mr. Graham believes that the Katahdin outcrop furnished the ma- 
terial for the Red Paint People and that the deposits in the graves are abor- 
iginal and not obtained from traders. 

Twenty percent of the stone tools have begun to disintegrate; only 
eighty per cent are perfect. Whether the disintegration is due to chemical 
action of the oxides in the nodules of iron pyrites was not known until we 
made a study and found that the action of the oxides does affect or eat stone. 
The disintegration is heaviest where the pyrites comes in contact with the 
tools. The red paint itself does not seem to affect the objects. 

The fragments of bones found in Lancaster's cemetery at Winslow have 
already been identified as human. See p. 100. Another small fragment was 
imbedded in a mass of ocher in one of the graves of the Emerson group. 
This is too small for positive identification, but the opinion has been ex- 
pressed that it also is human. 

Any complete statement or discussion of the contents of the Red Paint 
graves would add to the seven classes of artifacts previously described 
(gouges, adze and hatchet blades, plummets, ornaments, problematical 
forms, slate spears, chipped objects) an eighth class to include the un- 
worked stones or minerals, namely: hammer stones, paint grinders, bright 
pebbles, fire stones, iron pyrites, and the red paint itself. 



134 MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 

Our surveys devoted a great deal of work to trying to find, if possible, 
the villages occupied by the Red Paint People, but were never able positively 
to identify any such site. Mr. Walter B. Smith of Brewer, Maine, who was 
with us several times and might properly be considered a member of our ex- 
peditions, was more fortunate than the others, however. He found on the 
east bank of the Penobscot, a few kilometers above Bangor, one of the most 
interesting sites in the entire state, for here we have a cemetery in which 
Algonkian burials are clearly superimposed upon Red Paint graves and also 
a nearby village site in which relics of both cultures are found on and near 
the surface. This is precisely what would naturally result if a site suitable 
for habitation were successfully occupied by an earlier and a later popula- 
tion. 

The following description and discussion as well as the illustrations, are 
taken from an unpublished paper prepared by Mr. Smith and read before the 
Bangor Historical Society in October, 1920. 

INDIAN VILLAGE SITE NEAR BANGOR 

Within a few miles of Bangor, near the former head of tide, is the site of 
one of these ancient villages. This particular village seems to have been 
abandoned before the arrival of white men. The .soil has been cultivated or 
pastured for considerably more than a century. When freshly plowed, 
abundant evidence of man's occupation of the spot as a village site is shown 
in the characteristic blackened soil, rejectage and occasional relics. See 
fig. 64. 

Some of the relics, particularly slate lance-heads, plummets, gouges 
and adze-celts, though mostly fragmentary, are characteristic of the Red 
Paint culture. For this reason and with the hope of locating a cemetery of 
the Red Paint People or of finding proof that this site was occupied by them 
tor a village, considerable systematic prospecting and digging in and about 
this area has been done by the writer as his time permitted during the 
last tew seasons (1913-1916). . 

Judging by the prevalence of relic-bearing debris, the village itself was 
situated a short distance from the edge of the river bank, just far enough to 
be out of sight from the water. Here the darkest colored dirt and the most 
numerous fragments are on a strip of land about twentv-three meters wide 
and four or five times as long, parallel to the river. This dark dirt varied 
considerably in depth but in most places was shallow enough to have been 
reached by deep plowing. Wherever test holes showed a greater thickness or 
a disturbed condition of the underlying soil, digging was resorted to. In 
this manner quite a number of fireholes were discovered and other ancient 
pits ot varying sizes, dug for unknown purposes. But in neither soil, fireholes 
nor pits were relics found which differed noticeably from surface specimens. 



W. B. SMITH PAPER 135 

Indeed complete artifacts were rare, but many small fragments of pottery, 
discards and chips were encountered. 

The fireholes were mostly near the bank and shaped like inverted cones. 
They are 82 cm. to 1 1-3 meters deep and 1 to 1 2-3 meters across. They 
show the effects of fire and are filled with fire-burned remains, ashes, char- 
coal, and stones. In one or two a few fish vertebra were seen and layers 
of white ashes like that from burned cedar bark. The location of these holes 
suggests that they may have been for signal fires. 

Many other places were found in which there is a concentration of 
materials similar to those of the fireholes, but thev were shallower and broad- 
er — more saucer shaped. These probably represent lodge fires, as they are 
in the area which seems to have contained abodes. A few relics were found 
in and about these places — mostly arrow points, hammer stones, scrapers 
and knives ; also fragments of pottery were rather common in these shallow 
holes. 

In two places where the dark colored undersoil was dug out, straight 
trenches about one meter in width and depth and 5^ to 6 meters long were 
revealed. Many fire-reddened stones weighing up to two or three pounds 
each, were found near by; also a few broken stone blades which may have 
been large knives or spearheads, and pieces of gouges or celts with slightly 
curved cutting edges, were scattered about within a third of a meter of the 
surface. A possible explanation of these trenches is that they were made 
for canoe moulds. 

In none of these holes nor in other places where the soil had been dis- 
turbed to a depth of two thirds of a meter to one meter, were any traces of 
red paint found. It may be mentioned here, however, that fragments of 
worked slate as well as a few sections of slate lance heads and several un- 
finished pear-shaped pendants were found during this digging. These, to- 
gether with the types of specimens previously found in hunting and re- 
hunting the plowed ground of this area for many years, will be mentioned 
later. 

While certain relics and many fragments indicate a Red Paint period 
village, many other objects are surely identical with those of more recent 
stone-working tribes. Still others seem to belong neither to the Red Paint 
culture nor to this later period. Fortunately further evidence was discov- 
ered near by. 

Cremation Pits. (See fig. 68) 

Adjacent to this village site on a gentle slope of slightly higher land 
several acres were plowed late in the fall of 1915. This plowing was deep 
and the upturned furrows showed at two points small, jet black areas per- 
haps two thirds of a meter across. The black substance was very fine in 
texture and seemed to be lampblack mixed with small bits of calcined bones, 



136 MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 

badly broken arrow heads, spear points and charcoal. The soil was damp 
and all these fragments were as black as the substance in which they were 
imbedded — a condition which soon affected the digger's hands and cloth- 
ing. Test holes dug near by soon showed the presence of a similar but un- 
disturbed deposit. This when carefully excavated was found to be a bowl- 
shaped pit about one and one-sixth meters across and two-thirds of a meter 
deep. It contained the incinerated remains of bones and many fragmentary 
relics imbedded in a dense mass of lampblack and ashes. 

At least eight such cremation pits were found within a space less than 
six meters square. In one case two were in contact, in another probably 
three, but the latter were bunched so closely that a single number is given 
them. The single pits varied but a few centimeters from a diameter of one 
and one sixth meters. The contents of all were similar and showed effects 
of very hot fires. The lamp-black or fine black carbon surrounded every- 
thing but was densest in the center of the pits. The outside wall and bottom 
were marked by a more or less clearly defined zone of dark purplish-brown 
ashes and baked earth, and proved clearly that the contents of the pit had 
been bundled up and burned in the hole. Broken arrow points and spear 
heads were numerous, mostly lying on top of the bones or mixed with them 
in the upper part of the pits. 

Objects Found in the Cremation Pits 

Perforators and Drills. So-called perforators or pieces representing 
them were found in every pit but one - from two to six or eight in each. 
These are the most characteristic objects of the deposits. No more careful 
or delicate chipping is known than that exhibited by some of these relics. 
A very few are entire, a few others though badly broken have been restored 
by cementing the pieces together, but the majority were so badly shattered 
by fire that they are irretrievably lost. Fig. 65 shows the longest one found, 
complete except for point. Its cross section is nearly square. Perforators 
and drills are rare on the Penobscot and it is surprising to find so many in 
these pits. Judging by the pieces found, no fewer than forty were buried 
here. 

Spearheads and Arrow points. It was plainly seen that nearly all the 
chipped blades — arrow points and spear heads — were very thin and re- 
markably well made, but they formed such a jumble of fragments, some be- 
ing partly fused by fire, that it was found hopeless to fit a majority of them 
together. A few had escaped breakage; these and the ones that could be 
fitted together make a total of forty-five complete or nearly complete exam- 
ples saved, of a total of probably one hundred and fifty that were originally 
buried. Some of these are spear heads, others are undoubtedly arrow points, 
but the majority are of that intermediate size which is difficult to classify. 
The largest blades seem to be the most badly broken; the pieces found 



W. B. SMITH PAPER 137 

indicate a total length of 12.4 cm. to 14 cm. for a few, while the longest 
complete one is a little under 10 cm. But whether large or small, they are, 
with few exceptions, remarkable for their thinness and uniformity of shape 
and their decided flare at the shoulders. Fig. 66 shows the outlines of a few 
average examples correctly, but fails to do justice to the excellence of the 
chipping. 

Knives. Some of the above objects may have been used as knives. 
Among the other fragments are pieces representing about half a dozen 
blades with a plano-convex cross-section, that almost certainly were knives. 
Not enough material was recovered, however, to complete any single speci- 
men. 

Scrapers. Two scrapers were found. They are made of milky quartz 
and both were broken. They are without stems and are of the ordinary 
types found so plentifully hereabouts. 

A variety of minerals and rocks are represented by these chipped ar- 
ticles. Among them the Mt. Kineo quartz porphyry is rather prominent. 
In some of it the ground mass is changed to a purple color, some is in spots 
coated with glass from partial fusion, and much is broken into small, jagged, 
angular fragments defying re-assemblage, although showing surfaces of the 
original painstaking chipping. A small percentage of well-made blades were 
of ordinary milky quartz but none of these remain entire. Perhaps the 
majority are made of a dense, unidentified rock, showing a favorable working 
conchoidal fracture and at present a light gray color. Some are of igneous 
types not easily recognized and not found heretofore, as far as I am aware, 
on this river. Not a single article of flint was found. 

Gouges No complete gouges were recovered but pieces of at least four 
individual gouges were found. As far as observable they closely resemble 
those from Red Paint finds, but none are of the same materials as the Red 
Paint types. 

Celts. The remnants of at least sixteen of these tools were found in all, 
but with few exceptions they were too badly broken for restoration. Many 
of the pieces showed a rounding of the angles analogous to spheroidal 
weathering. 

Bone Tools. So many bits of calcined bone were found, too small for 
identification, that little care was taken at first to save much of this ma- 
terial or even to examine it as closely as should have been done. Thus it is 
not improbable that some interesting remnants were overlooked. But when 
we had once happened to notice that a small fragment of bone had apparent- 
ly been worked, a sharper watch was kept afterwards and pieces of bone 
chisels, gouges and awls were found, beside a few examples with diamond 
shaped points which appear to have been bone counterparts of the stone 

perforators. 

Human Bones. As stated above, small bone fragments were numerous 



i 



Penobscot R. 



Village Site Cemetery 




Fig. 64. Cross section of terrace on which Mr. Smith found a village site and cemetery. 



W. B. SMITH PAPER 139 

They had been badly burned, crumpled easily and were hard to save. It 
was of course suspected that they were human. A small lot was kindly 
examined by Dr. William C. Mason of Bangor, who identified several as 
positively not human; others he said might be human but they were too 
small for him to be certain about them. A few rather larger pieces were 
found in a pit discovered later and these have recently been sent to Mr. 
Moorehead at Andover. He took them to Dr. Hooton of the Anthropologi- 
cal Section of the Peabody Museum of Harvard University, who recognized 
them as human and identified by name the various parts. Dr. Allen of the 
Museum of Comparative Anatomy concurred with the opinion of Dr. Hoo- 
ton. The doctors found in the lot, in addition to the human bones, a couple 
of bones probably belonging to a large fish. 

Thus we have fragments of human bones, animal bones, bone tools, and 
a surprisingly large number of stone relics, badly mixed together and 
mingled with the ashes of miscellaneous substances, in these fire pits, which 
were without doubt primarily intended as graves for human beings. If 
any definite arrangement of the contents of these graves was originally made, 
the destructive fires would necessarily have obscured it. Yet as the digging 
proceeded it was noticed that spear heads, arrow points, perforators, and 
the few scrapers occurred near the top of the deposit mixed with bone frag- 
ments, and that the stone celts and gouges were invariably found at the 
bottom beneath the bones.* 

In the upper part of one grave close to its northern edge four small spear 
heads were found in contact, in parallel orientation pointing north. One 
was nearly perfect but the others were fire-cracked and fell to pieces upon 
being removed. Directly south on the opposite side of the grave, a dis- 
colored brown streak projected out and slightly upward, like the handle of a 
frying pan, till cut off by the top soil. Apparently four spears with wooden 
shafts had been placed across the grave pointing north, the grave had been 
covered with soil and the spaces between the spear shafts created a draught 
conducting smoke from the smouldering fire beneath. 

Red Paint Graves 

Before the cremation pits were entirely worked out, Red Paint graves 
were discovered at a greater depth, indirectly underlying these pits but 
spreading out over a larger area. In all, eighteen graves containing ocher 
were excavated. The accompanying plan, fig. 67, and the cross section, fig. 
68, show the location of graves and pits and their relation to each other.* 
These graves have no discernible outlines and their original size is judged 

* Mr. Smith describes adzes, celts and other stone objects which are not Red Paint types. A few- 
whole ones were found in the pits, together with many fragments of broken stone tools. 

* The Red Paint graves are lettered, the cremation pits numbered. 



Fig. 65. Face and side view of long chipped, drill-like object. Walter B. Smith site. S. 1-2. 




Fig. 66. Chipped, shouldered spear from the Walter B. Smith site. See pp. 136, 137. S. 1-2. 



OBJECTS FOUND IN RED PAINT GRAVES 141 

only by the extent of the ocher deposits and the occasional relics found just 
outside. The soil is a fine loamy sand near the top, with yellowish or gray- 
ish sand extending to the depth of the grave. The ocher was as a rule de- 
posited on coarse grayish sand which gave excellent drainage. In some 
graves boulders were found, and in one case the red ocher had been deposited 
directly on top of a large boulder. The whole formation is glacial, varying 
in material in different parts from clay to sand, gravel and boulders. 

The graves lay between eighty-five centimeters and one meter deep and 
the deposit of ocher at the bottom varied in different graves from about two 
thirds of a meter to a little more than a meter and a third in greatest diame- 
ter. All but two contained relics. No new types were found, but several 
kinds occurring elsewhere were absent. 

Objects Found in Red Paint Graves 

Human Bones. Perhaps the most important discovery made here was 
the finding of small fragments of bones closely bunched and completely im- 
bedded in a dense mass of red ocher about one meter from the surface in 
grave H. These also were submitted to Dr. Hooton and Dr. Allen for ex- 
amination and were reported to be calcined human bones. Although none 
of these fragments exceed twenty-eight millimeters in length, the doctor was 
able to identify five of the various parts by name. The only stone relics 
occurring in the ocher with the bones are two chipped blades made of mate- 
rial closely resembling the Mt. Kineo quartz-porphyry. The red ocher had a 
maximum thickness of 1.9 cm. and thinned out in an irregular oblong area 
two thirds of a meter by one meter. It was unusually firm and probably 
could have been removed almost as a solid cake. A small mass of limonite,* 
all that was left of a fire-making set, was found in the ocher near the bones. 

The presence of human bones in red ocher — and these are the first to 
be positively identified as such — is good evidence that these places are 
really graves and not deposits of votive offerings. It is somewhat surprising 
to find the bones showing evidence of calcination, as no traces of fire are 
seen below the top soil in any of these graves. Therefore it seems the burn- 
ing must have been done before the burial, unless it be possible that suffi- 
cient heat to produce this calcining was developed by the decomposition of 
pyrite fire stones. 

Fire Making Outfits. A particularly interesting feature of these de- 
posits was the care with which they had been supplied with the means for 
producing fire; nearly every grave contained two or three flattened ovate 
or clam-shaped masses of limonite — about 6 cm. to 11.2 cm. across and 4 
cm. through, coated with rather loosely adhering iron-stained sand which 
could be for the most part easily brushed off. The majority of these objects 



* Limonite or bog-ore is yellow or brown iron ore which occurs in wet^places. 




3 1-4 meters 



Fig. 67. Plan of graves and fire pits of the Walter B. Smith site. 



RED PAINT PEOPLE AND ALGONKINS 143 

are hollow and some contained yellow ocher and a greenish-colored powder. 
The sides of the hollow ones are thin, smooth and usually somewhat broken. 
In one case they had almost completely disappeared, leaving only a dough- 
nut shaped ring of rough limonite. These thin sides either show an impres- 
sion of birch bark or are themselves fossilized birch bark — limonite pseu- 
domorphs. An attempt has been made to show some of these in fig. 69. 

The original substance of the limonite and yellow ocher may have been 
pyrite but in this cemetery its decomposition product resembles that of the 
hard, impure nodules of phyrrotite from Katahdin Iron Works. In one in- 
stance a small hammer stone of quartz-porphyry was found firmly attached 
by iron rust to a small mass of limonite. It is evident that two pieces of 
pyrite or other hard ore or one of pyrite and one of a flint-like stone were care- 
fully wrapped in birch bark and placed in the grave, that material for kind- 
ling a fire might be at hand when needed. This is clear proof of the Red 
Paint People's method of making fire, as well as of their belief in a future 
existence. The birch bark may have been intended for kindling or used only 
to protect the objects which it enclosed. The shape of some of these limon- 
ite masses suggests that the fire-making outfits may have been enclosed in 
large clam or scallop shells. 

It seems certain that articles other than stone were at least in some 
cases placed in this red paint — perishable objects that now show only as 
rounded sections and long streaks without sharp boundaries or definite 
shapes, and observable only by the contrast in color between their ashes and 
the red ocher. A microscopical examination of this gray dust or ash re- 
vealed in several instances a few minute scales of charcoal. This indicates 
that the articles buried may have been fire-smoothed shapes of wood and 
their rod-like shapes and half-round sections suggest bows, arrowshafts and 
spear handles. But these dust forms are but gray ghosts of the original ob- 
jects and are far too intangible for identification. 

RED PAINT PEOPLE AND ALGONKINS 

Various theories have been advanced as to the identity of the Red 
Paint People. The most obvious question is, naturally, whether they were 
the same people as the Indians who inhabited New England at the time 
Europeans first came here and whose descendants still survive, namely the 
Algonkins. For light on this point we should make some comparisons be- 
tween the Algonkin types of artifacts common on the village sites and in the 
shell heaps of Maine and the rest of New England, and the contents of the 
Red Paint graves. 

Up to the present time not a single piece of pottery nor any grooved 
axe, no tablet-shaped ornament, stone pipe, bone or shell ornament, scraper, 
grooved hammer or thick, oval celt, has been found in any of their graves. 
These contain more spear points than arrow points and the slate points are 



A Cremation Pit 8 fced- paint Grave tt B 



^ggr ^r?^ 




Fi 68- Vertical cross section A, B, through Cremation 
PiM3 and Red-paint Gravest C. Cultivated soil. D.D. Dis- 
turbed sand. E. Lampblack-like mass with many hre-broken 
relics and calcined bone- fragments. F. Red ochre with a 
few relics. Q,0. Undisturbed sand. 

No definite ouf\ir\es for a>\y of tb,e red painl burials 
could be determined but an occasionaf f]u\t chip or a bit of 
charcoal and patches of darker colored sand were suf- 
ficient evidence of so'\l disturbance w\tV\out The conclusive 
proof furnished by large quantities of red ochre with 
stone relics found at The bottoms of the- graves. The 
cremation pits- dug, n-\uck later- showed well-defined bound- 
aries and lj\e disturbed Soil was somewhat darker cofored 
Throughout Than That of The red-paint graves. 



MODERN INDIAN BURIAL 145 

common, whereas on ordinary village sites they are absent or very rare, and 
I do not know of one being found in a shell heap. Chipped knives are also 
very rare. A comparison of the gouges and adze blades with those of known 
Algonkin manufacture indicates that they are not made by the same people. 
The writer agrees with the opinion expressed by Mr. Willoughby and 
Professor Bates, who visited Emerson's cemetery during the course of our ex- 
plorations, to the effect that the grooved axe was introduced from the west; 
being found serviceable there it probably came into New England somewhat 
later. On the other hand the celt-gouge and double gouge forms of the Red 
Paint People wej*e not used by the western aborigines, at least not in the 
Mississippi valley. That the Red Paint People did not copy the grooved 
axe and that their own most characteristic forms were unknown to other 
American Indians, together with the evident great antiquity of their cul- 
ture seems to justify the inference that it existed before the general Algonkian 
development, although no such argument should be considered conclusive, 
in the light of our present knowledge. 

MODERN INDIAN BURIAL AT SARGENTVILLE 

It has been claimed by some that the prehistoric graves we have opened 
in so many places are identical with modern Indian interments. These state- 
ments are not made by those who have actually excavated in Maine, but 
by persons not familiar with Maine archaeology. In view of a recent publi- 
cation of the Bureau of Ethnology*, the following detailed study of a modern 
burial is presented. Readers are requested to compare this grave with those 
of the Red Paint People previously described. 

In 1912 some members of our expedition went to Sargentville in the 
town of Sedgwick and explored the shores of Walker's pond. Test pits were 
sunk on a knoll and an upland slope in the field of Mr. Hugh Brown, on the 
west shore of the pond. These revealed nothing. A search of such beach as 
lay bare yielded a few Kineo felsite chips. The supposed large camp site was 
said to be at the northern end of the pond, in Brooksville. On July 9th 
pits were sunk on a knoll twenty meters from the lake on the land of Mr. 
Grindel. The place is called "the Indian burying ground." On the very 
top of this knoll, in dry, stony soil, were found the remains of a single skele- 
ton, accompanied by copper and shell beads. Only such bones were left as 
were preserved by the copper. Of the skull, only the lower jaw and teeth 
remained. At the neck were found two rolled copper cylinders about eight 
centimeters long, still strung together on a piece of thong. The remains of a 
third cylinder were also found. Resting upon what had been the chest of the 
body was a rectangular copper plate, about twenty-two by five centimeters, 
containing three small, irregular perforations along the middle line. Be- 

* Bulletin 71, "Native Cemeteries and Forms of Burial East of the Mississippi," Washington, 

1920, by D. I. Bushnell, Jr. 



LEGEND 



A 

AR.P Red paint cemetery 

XXX SHELL HEM 



VILLAGE 51TB 



CEMETERY 




Fig. 69 Parts of prehistoric tire -making outfits. 
Limonite nodules pseudomorph after pyrite with 
10351I birch bark covering 



FRANKLIN 




6 YN TON 



PLAN X 
SITES ABOUT FRENCHMAN SAY 



MODERN INDIAN BURIALS 147 

neath this was a well-preserved sheet of hide, of leathery texture. Upon 
this being carefully removed, a layer of white and black shell beads, still in 
order, was disclosed. They consisted of one long string and many shorter 
ones at right angles to this. These all rested upon another fold of hide. 
About them occurred shreds and lumps of bark or matting. Five or six of 
the cervical vertebrae, all stained green, were preserved. Some of the 
smaller ribs were likewise preserved. Apparently some copper object had 
rested under the body, as several splinters of copper were wedged among the 
vertebrae. Parts of the scapella and humerus remained. The white beads 
were comparatively thick and probably of clam shell (venus mercenaria?) 
while the black or more properly purple beads were very thin and were some- 
times strung double. A number of loose beads were found, and all the earth 
coming from the grave was sifted through the fingers before being thrown 
aside. In working out the grave beyond where the objects occurred it was 
sometimes possible to trace discolorations in the clayey soil, marking the de- 
cay of the larger bones or of the bark or matting wrapping. No stone ob- 
jects were found with this burial, nor any trace whatever of other metal than 
copper. The body was about thirty-three centimeters below the surface, 
and as nearly as could be determined lay north and south at full length and 
with the head to the south, and the bones were those of a young person. 
Subsequent pitting on this knoll and adjacent areas revealed nothing fur- 
ther. An analysis of the copper proves it to be European rather than native 
American, as is shown by the following statement contained in a letter from 
Professor C. H. White of the Mining School of Harvard University. 

Cambridge, Massachusetts, July 14, 1913 
Dear Mr. Manning: — 

At last I have as nearly completed the analysis of the copper you 
gave me from the Indian grave in Maine, as the size of the sample will 
permit. I find the following percentages of metals present: 

Copper 95.89 

Tin 0.38 

Lead 0.55 

Iron 0.14 

The metal also contains arsenic and antimony, but I was not able to 
determine the amounts of these metals, owing to the small sample that 
I had to work upon. On account of the corroded condition of the metal I 
found it impossible to obtain a sample absolutely free from oxides. 

s|! sj: :jc He s|: 

I am sorry not to be able to report the arsenic and antimony; but 
the results that I have been able to obtain will probably enable you to de- 
termine the origin of the metal. " Yours very sincerely, 

(Signed) Charles H. White 




V. 



6C 




~a 





c 
o 



£ 
£ 

"S. 

o 

03 

r 
t- 
o 

**- 
<- 
3 
O 

-E 

H 



o 



THE SHELL HEAPS 149 

Dr. R. B. Orr, Director, Provincial Museum, Canada, in a letter dated 
August 11, 1921, called my attention to the discovery of seven or eight skel- 
etons on the north shore of Lake Ontario, immediately west of the city of 
Toronto. The burials were accompanied by a quantity of red ocher, appar- 
ently soft hematite but not very brilliant. 

In the State University Museum at Columbus, Ohio, I was shown some 
bones colored brilliant red by contact with powdered hematite. These were 
found in a gravel knoll, or glacial kame burial. Clarence B. Moore, Esq., 
has reported quantities of powdered hematite found with skeletons in one 
of the mounds explored by him. In all these instances the powdered hema- 
tite was present, but the eight well known Red Paint People types are ab- 
sent — as they are everywhere save where the Red Paint culture area ex- 
tends in Maine. 

Although both Mr. Willoughby and myself have called attention to the 
fallacy of Mr. Bushnell's argument to the effect that all burials containing 
powdered hematite are practically the same culture, yet according to this 
latest publication, he* seems to persist, notwithstanding the evidence of 
several hundred graves to the contrary. 

THE RED PAINT PEOPLE AND THE SHELL HEAPS 

One feels safe in suggesting that the Red Paint People did not 
live at the shell heaps or at least that they did not accumulate shell 
heaps. It is perhaps impossible to prove this statement absolutely, as it is 
impossible to prove many other generally accepted statements in American 
archaeology; but it is an opinion based upon many months of work among 
the shell heaps along the Maine coast. In the heaps themselves no broken 
slate spears, unfinished gouges, crescents, or other forms included under the 
list of persistent types are found, with the sole exception of some rude 
plummets, but plummets occur everywhere, as is well known. I do not af- 
firm that the Red Paint People did not visit the coast, but only that no vil- 
lage of theirs upon the coast has been identified. They have left few of any 
of their characteristic objects on the surface near salt water, although 
curiously enough there are five known cemeteries on shores facing salt water. 
One would naturally suppose that they would occasionally lose an adze or 
hatchet blade, part of a slate spear, a chunk of iron pyrites, a crescent, a long 
pendant, or some other object, in places where they were living. We find 
none of these things in the shell heaps, although we have hand-trowelled an 
area equal to hundreds of square meters; but on the contrary we discover 
great quantities of broken pottery and bone implements, hammer stones, 
etc., of which the Red Paint People made no use, so far as can be determined. 



* "Native Cemeteries and Forms of Burial East of the Mississippi." Bureau of American 
Ethnology, Bui. 71, p. 15. 



150 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



In the American Anthropologist for 1915,* Mr. Willoughby published 
a paper on the Red Paint People, in reply to a recent contention of Mr. Dav- 
id I. Bushnell of the Bureau of American Ethnology, that there was no es- 
pecial difference between the Red Paint culture and that of other Indians.** 
In this paper he refers particularly to the adze blade, a subject in which he 
is much interested and upon which he has already presented a paper in the 
same journal. f Readers will find these two papers of use when seeking know- 
ledge concerning the use of stone artifacts by New England Indians. In 
the concluding sentence of the later paper, the author, always conservative, 
says: "A careful study of available data seems to indicate that they [the 
Red Paint People] were not contemporary with the Algonkian tribes whose 
refuse piles form most of the shell heaps along the New England coast." 

We may add that, were they of the "shell-heap culture," they certainly 
would have placed some of the characteristic shell-heap tools in at least a 
few of the four hundred and forty graves that we have explored. The utter 
absence of forms common to Indian graves elsewhere in the United 
States is characteristic of the graves. This is our strongest evidence 
that they are not to be classed with Iroquoian or Algonkian, and brings us to 
our final observation, that the Red Paint People lived before the construc- 
tion of shell heaps and before the Algonkian development in Maine. 

THE BEOTHUK THEORY. 

In 1915 the University Press of Cambridge, England, published a large 
volume by, James P. Howley, Esq. entitled "The Beothuks, or Red Indians, 
the Aboriginal Inhabitants of Newfoundland." This scholarly work was 
hailed by some as presenting a solution of the Red Paint People problem. 
The writer of this report has made a careful comparison between the ob- 
jects taken from Red Paint graves by our surveys and those illustrated by 
Howley at the end of his volume. He presents a large number of bone im- 
plements, many of which are worked into fanciful designs similar to some 
found in the Iroquois graves of the Mohawk Valley, but the stone gouges, 
hatchet blades, spear and arrow points and chipped objects bear little re- 
semblance to the types found in Maine. There are no long, slender spears 
or daggers, none of the crescents or little effigies such as are found in the Red 
Paint graves; and above all, the red paint is missing from their burials. 

If the Beothuks and the Red Paint People are one and the same, there 
is little indication of the identity in a cultural similarity. It is the opinion 
of the writer that the Red Indians of Newfoundland are not descendants of 
the people to whom we have devoted so much space in this book. It seems 
incredible that they should have so changed their art in travelling so short 

* Vol. XVll, pp. 400-409. 

** Op. tit. Vol. XVII, pp. 207-209. 

t Op. tit. Vol. IX, 1907, pp. 296-306. 



THE BEOTHUK THEORY 151 

a distance as from Maine to Newfoundland. The literature on this subject 
is not extensive, however, as no field work has been projected by other insti- 
tutions than Phillips Academy. 

The conclusion to be drawn from all these comparisons seems clearly to 
be that the Red Paint People did not merge with any other known culture 
to the east, the west, the north, or the south; that they are absolutely dis- 
tinct and very ancient. Whether, as has been suggested, we might find a 
change or a merging into another culture in Nova Scotia, cannot be fully de- 
termined until explorations are carried into that quarter. 

If there is a similarity to be noted with the culture of any tribe known 
to history, it would perhaps be with the Eskimo. Some implements in use 
among this people suggest Red Paint influence. Hence if the writer were to 
theorize at all upon the question of what became of the Red Paint People, 
he would offer the suggestion that they moved northward and later became 
the Eskimo. 

As to the antiquity of these people stated in years, no one is able to set 
even approximate dates. In comparison with aboriginal interments in more 
than twenty other states where the author has explored, they appear very 
old. They have begun to fit into their geologic surroundings and do not ap- 
pear modern in any sense of the word. No other graves have just such an ap- 
pearance. 



PART III. 

THE SHELL HEAPS OF MAINE 
A. Explorations 

During the last twenty or thirty years a number of pamphlets and 
articles in scientific periodicals have been devoted to the shell heaps of the 
upper Atlantic coast, among which those at Damariscotta, Maine, are es- 
pecially noted.* It is not surprising that such remains should receive more 
attention from observers than interior village sites or Red Paint cemeteries, 
for they are usually visible from the water and persons voyaging along the 
coast often land and examine them. 

Maine shell heaps are usually composed of clam shells with an admix- 
ture of mussel shells. Clams predominate and mussels seem only to have 
been eaten when the natives were short of other food. The heaps range in 
size from those four or five meters broad, such as mark the site of a wigwam 
for a few seasons, to the great oyster shell heaps at Damariscotta, some of 
which are a hundred meters or more in length and even at this late day over 
seven meters high. They are always near a good clam-flat, never upon a 
bold, rocky shore. Often they occupy a long point, occasionally a sheltered 
cove, and sometimes they are just back from a straight shore-line. They 
are seldom located more than five meters above high tide. The surface 
has often been plowed and used for raising crops, as the buried shells make a 
wonderfully rich and productive soil. 

Our surveys examined some of these heaps during the years that we 
were along the coast hunting for village sites and cemeteries. In 1912 none 
were excavated, but in succeeding years many were inspected and explored, 
our most extensive work being done in Frenchman's Bay in 1913 and at 
Castine in 1915. 

No one knows the exact number of these accumulations of shell, which 
are scattered all along the Maine coast from the New Hampshire line to 
Calais. Professor Bates located many of them upon his maps and we were 
permitted to copy these entries upon our own maps. The total thus known 
is something like two hundred and fifty.** Careful work about the shores of 
every inlet, bay and island along the coast would add at least three hundred 



* See Bibliography under Cushing, Putnam, Morse, Loomis, and Young. 

** About 60 by Bates; 190 by Phillips Academy. Professor Bates had other maps, it is said, 
but these are not available at present. Our maps do not show heaps less than 20 meters in diameter 
and 6 cm. to 8 cm. thick. 




Fig. 71. The men at work trenching the Calf Island shell heap. See p. 158. 



REFERENCE 



A. Sod Line 

B. Bi-oKen Shells 

C. Decayed Vegetation Layer 
0. Undisturbed Stratum 

E. Matsts Of Clean Shells 

F. Decayed Vegetation Layer 

G. Undisturbed Stratum 

H- RocKs, Charcoal and Ashes 




:HHHlM 



I 




CROSS SECTION OF BOYNTON'S SHELL 
H EAP, LAMOINE, MAINE. 



Fia. 72 



154 MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 

more, as those who are familiar with the Maine ocean border contend. 
Much of the coast line has not been intensively worked, for the reason that, 
large as were our parties, we did not have time to cover all of this great 
region, especially as we were primarily searching for cemeteries and village 
sites. Shell heaps are very much alike, and when one has examined thirty 
or forty of them and found little or no difference in the culture of the makers, 
he turns his researches in other directions. A part of our crew was usually 
kept on shell-heap work while others searched for cemeteries. In the lower 
layers of the heavier heaps there is much fine black earth and soot which 
seems to have a bad effect upon the hands, cracking the skin and causing 
sores if the men continue hand-trowelling for more than two weeks together. 
We therefore changed frequently from this to the other form of exploration 
in order to rest the men. 

In most heaps we find many pits a half meter to several meters in ex- 
tent, which have been dug by seekers after bone and stone objects. It has 
invariably been our custom to fill up our own excavations, but irresponsible 
persons leave theirs open. Owners complain that, as those who dig under- 
mine the banks, high tides wash away the land thus exposed and damage 
results. One advantage, however, accrues to the thorough worker from this 
"pot-hunting", for the unfilled pits indicate to him how much work has al- 
ready been done and whether enough of the heap remains to justify proper 
explorations. 

In all the shell accumulations, village sites, or kitchen middens examined 
by our party at any time, neither regularity of form of the heap itself nor 
intelligent, orderly disposition of objects was to be observed. To make an 
intelligible map of any shell heap would be impossible, and the same is true 
of any series of measurements. It is sufficient to say that the heap is so 
long and of such depth and breadth. The specimens of stone, bone, clay, 
and chert are scattered all through the mass. They may lie near the surface 
or be at the bottom, but fewer are found near the top of the heap. Plowing 
or any disturbance would cause the heavier objects to settle, since the upper 
shells are loosely packed. The artifacts lie among the shells, in black earth, 
in ashes, or wedged between rocks, or at the very base. 

Frenchman's Bay 

In July, 1013, after our work upon the Red Paint cemetery on Parker's 
Point, Blue Hill, we located at Hancock Point, opposite Bar Harbor. This 
region lies at the heart of the shell-heap culture, although it includes also the 
Sullivan Falls cemetery of the Red Paint People, upon which we spent part 
of our time.* We dug out several small heaps near our base, collecting vari- 



* There arc more than sixty shell heaps, large and small, within twenty kilometers of Mount 
Desert Ferry. 





Fig. 73. Above, point on which Boynton's shell heap is located. Mt. Desert in the distance. Below, 
trenches at Boynton's shell heap the second day. These were later made into one large pit or excavation. 



156 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



of the forms common 

to work out many meters 



shell heaps, and 



had volun- 



ous implements 

teers, we were able to work out many meters of earth and shells in a single 

day. 

The shell heaps in this region are almost entirely composed of clam 
valves. A few larger quahog, mussel and scallop shells are to be seen, but 
clams are at least ninety-seven percent of the whole. The clams appear to 
have been roasted on hot stones. Great numbers of stones from ten to 
twenty-five centimeters in diameter, blackened or burnt red, occur in all 
the heaps. The shells themselves often exhibit traces of fire and are some 
times even charred, but they are clean and clear when no burnt stones or 
charcoal are near. All the heaps contain larger clams than the average dug 
up by modern clam hunters. 

Sullivan Falls Shell Heap. Two hundred meters below the Sullivan 
Falls cemetery, on a point of land just opposite the clam flat, is a heap meas- 
uring about thirty-five meters north and south by forty meters east and 
west. It is marked B on plan VII. Our excavations here were extensive for 
the reason that it lay so near the Red Paint cemetery and we hoped to learn 
something new — possibly that the Red Paint People had lived on this site. 
We dug out practically the whole of it, but except three plummets in the bot- 
tom layer, nothing was found different from the forms of shell-heap artifacts 
elsewhere. The list of finds is : 



Plummets 

Broken and whole arrow heads 

Spear heads 

Hammer stones 

Unfinished implements 

Bones 

Scrapers 

Rubbing stones 

Knives 

Celts 

Worked antler 

Pottery 

Awls 

Perforated shell 

Broken gouge 

Drilled bear teeth 

Broken objects 

Worked bones 

Chips 



3 
24 

4 

3 
47 

7 boxes 

5 

3 

2 

8 

1 

3 boxes 

6 

1 

1 

2 
40 

2 

5 boxes 



Total 



167 




Fig. 74. The mass of shells at Boynton's. The central part of this picture is about one half meter 
from the surface. 




Fig. 75. Teeth of moose, bear, panther, wolf, lynx, and beaver from Stover's, Sullivan Falls, Ward- 
well's and Butler's sites. S. 2-5. 



158 MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 

The less important shell heaps which we examined may be mentioned 
briefly as follows: 

One kilometer north of Sullivan Falls on the west side of the channel is 
a heap which we dug out rather thoroughly. It measures 25 m. by 15 m. 
and is 30 cm. to 40 cm. thick. Little was found. Several others were still 
further up toward the north west, near Egypt Bay. On the south end of 
Burying Island, four kilometers above the Falls, is a long heap following the 
outline of a cove, in which we made partial excavations. It is 100 m. long 
in a semi-circle, 10 m. to 15 m. wide, and 20 cm. to 60 cm. deep. On Butler's 
Point, one and a half kilometers north of Burying Island, is a heap 100 m. 
long from east to west, 15 m. to 20 m. wide, and 30 cm. to 1 m. in depth 
which is rich in bone objects. We excavated extensively but could not com- 
plete the work, as the owner decided to retain the place for "summer guests " 
to explore. Sufficient information was secured, however, to indicate that it 
is an important site. We recovered 533 objects in three days, of which 147 
were bone tools. ^ 

Some interesting specimens were secured by digging in a shell heap be- 
longing to Mr. Wardwell, on the shore near Mount Desert Ferry, between 
Sullivan Falls and Hancock Point. Ingalls Island, opposite Mount Desert 
Ferry, has shell heaps at both north and south ends, which are about 30 m. 
long, 10 m. to 20 m. wide, and 30 cm. to 60 cm. deep. They had been greatly 
disturbed by relic hunters and our force did not do much digging. On 
Bean's Island, two kilometers south of the Ferry, are t wo heaps. A small one 
at the east end, 20m. by 10 m. and 40 cm. deep, was excavated in part. Near 
the west end is one which extends along the south shore for 30 m. and back 
from the shore 10 m., and is 15 cm. to 35 cm. deep. This was well excavated. 
The shell heaps in this region contain very few mussel or scallop shells, 
whereas near Castine there is a considerable proportion of shells other than 
those of clams. 

Calf Island Shell Heap. While we were in the Mount Desert region, 
Dr. Peabody joined us for some time and he proposed that some one shell 
heap should be carefully hand-trowelled out in order to ascertain all possible 
facts. Although shell heaps are refuse piles, quite different from cemeteries 
and not much more could be learned from intensive digging than by means 
of the larger tools, yet he thought that the experiment should be tried. Ac- 
cordingly most of the crew of twelve men were assigned to him and he put 
them to work on Calf Island, at the entrance of Frenchman's Bay, which be- 
longs to Colonel Morrell of Philadelphia. They excavated from the center 
outward until the "feather edge" was reached and nothing more was to be 
found. Fig. 71 presents the crew at work trenching the heap. 

Dr. Peabodv's notes are here inserted: 

"On August 22, 1913, excavations were started on Calf Island, 
Frenchman's Bay. Trenches were excavated as follows, beginning on the 



SHELL HEAPS OF MAINE 159 

bluff of the south shore at a point about midway between the east end of the 
island and the rise of ground in front of the house of the owner of the island, 
Colonel Morrell, of Philadelphia. 

Trench A — 8 meters north and south, 4 meters east and west. 
Trench B — 6 meters north and south, 6 meters east and west. 

(Trench B lay 2 meters west of trench A.) 
Trench C — 6 meters west-south-west and east-north-east, 2 
meters north-north-west, and south-south-east. 
(Trench C lay 7 meters to the east of trench A.) 
Trench D — 4 meters north and south, 3 meters east and west. 

(Trench D lay 17 meters east of the east end of trench C.) 
Trench E — 6 meters north and south, about the same east and 
west. 

(Trench E lay 10 meters west of trench B.) 
Trench F — 4 meters north and south, 4 meters east and west. 

(Trench F lay 1 meter 50 cm. north of trench A.) 
Trench G — 3 meters north-east and south-west, 1 meter 50 
cm. north-west and south-east. 

(Trench G lay 1 meter 50 cm. east of the north-east corner 

of trench A.) 

"The entire shell heap has a length of 67 meters with a maximum 

breadth of 31 meters. The depth of shells varies from a few centimeters 

to 40 cm. ; the amount seems to depend on the original inequalities of the 

surface. There was little evidence of stratification. 

"As a result of the excavations the following specimens were col- 
lected : 

Projectile points 2 

Broken projectile points 1 

Scrapers, red jasper 2 

Scrapers, white quartz 4 

Scrapers, dark chert 1 

Scrapers, unfinished 1 

Projectile points or rejects or unfinished points 10 



Perforator (?) 


1 


Grooved axe 20 cm. x 11 cm. x 6 cm. 


1 


" Turtlebacks " 


2 


Celts, thick 


3 


Celts, thin 


3 


Adzes, broken or unfinished 


2 


Nuclei 


7 


Chips 


240 


Chips, red jasper 


6 


Chips, quartz 


5 









Fig. 76. Wheeler's Cove shell heap, near Castine. Before exploration. Less than a third appears in 
the picture. 



PIT ( 




EXCAVATIONS IN WHEELER'S 
SHELL HEAP, NEAR CASTINE. 



Fig. 77. 



PLAN XT 

OUTLINE MAP OFFHE LOWER PART OF HANCOCK COUNTY 

o I a 3 4 j <; 7 s 9 io 




162 MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



Hammer stones 

Fragment of "mill" 

Iron "handle" 

Bone points and fragments, flat 

Bone points and fragments, round 

Bone fish hooks and fragments 


14 

1 

1 (On surface) 

3 
11 
12 


Bone harpoons 
Pottery fragments 

(largest 6 em. x 5 cm. x 5 mm.) 


8 
122 



Total 463 

"Animal bones were found representing the following species: 

moose (very numerous), bobcat, Indian dog, beaver, otter, grey 

seal, birds, and shells of the razor clam. These identifications 

were made by Dr. Glover M. Allen of Harvard University, who 

kindly examined all the shell-heap materials." 

It was not known at the time that Professor Loomis and Mr. Young of 
Amherst had previously explored a part of Calf Island heap. In their re- 
port in the American Journal of Science* they list fifty-eight implements of 
various kinds and bones of thirty-nine birds, animals and fish, which should 
be added to Dr. Peabody's total. The heap had been considerably dis- 
turbed by excavators and also plowed over a number of times; hence many 
objects had doubtless been carried away by previous visitors. 

Stover's Shell Heap. Near Sorrento, on the east side of Frenchman's 
Bay opposite Hancock Point, is a shell heap on the estate of Mrs. Louise 
Stover. It lies nearly north and south along the shore for 82 meters and var- 
ies from 10 to 12 meters in width. Three or four meters of the width have 
been washed away by the tides. The depth was from a quarter of a meter to 
one meter. 

The site had not been disturbed by previous investigation, but we ex- 
cavated only about half of the heap, as the ocean was undermining the bank 
and the owner did not wish it dug down. There were no strata or periods 
of occupancy to be observed, all indications pointing to a gradual and steady 
accumulation of the material. Human relics were numerous but there were 
no indications of a knowledge of European culture. Flint implements pre- 
dominated over bone tools. 

In the bottom layer the shells were decayed and there was very much 
black, soft earth, from a deposit of ashes and charcoal, with stones twenty 
to fifty centimeters in diameter which showed blackening by fire. Some two 
hundred objects of interest were recovered, including harpoons, a pipe, an 
effigy, fish hooks, etc. The position of the objects was the same as elsewhere. 



* Vol. XXXIV, July, 191-2, pp. 17-42. 



SHELL HEAPS OF MAINE 163 

Many were found about the large hearths or between fire stones in the base 
as if lost. As it is not likely that good fish hook*, awls, and chipped objects 
would be thrown away, it seems that the more perfect forms must have been 
accidentally dropped. 

A complete catalogue of the objects found in Stover's shell heap in- 
cludes more than nine hundred numbers. 

Boynton's Shell Heap. We examined many other shell heaps on the 
islands in Frenchman's Bay and Skillings River and cruised about the re- 
gion seeking a large, undisturbed, deep shell heap, in order that we might 
make original and more thorough observations. We found one at last at 
Old Point in the town of Lamoine, not far from the coaling station of the 
Navy and overlooking the long bridge of the Ellsworth-Bar Harbor road. 
It was owned by Mr. Nathan Boynton, who kindly permitted extensive 
excavations. 

This proved to be the largest occupied site that we discovered during our 
eight seasons in Maine. It lies on the east side of a long, narrow point jutting 
out southward into afi arm of the sea, with a large clam flat both to the 
right and to the left. The Indian village which it represents was located 
near the outer end of the point and extended back toward the main land for 
three hundred meters, with a width of about one hundred and fifty meters. 

After test pits had been sunk and indications showed that the heap was 
one meter and a half at its greatest depth, we investigated further to the 
north and found shells three to ten centimeters deep, more than two hun- 
dred meters distant from the thickest part. While the shells are heavily de- 
posited over the area cited, they are also scattered thinly along the adjacent 
land, and chips of felsite, arrow heads, etc. occur in the neighborhood. Prob- 
ably the village extended beyond the actual shell-heap layer and our esti- 
mate oj three hundred meters does not cover the entire site. 

Boynton's was one of the largest shell heaps ever worked out in detail, 
and the richness of the site in objects and its undisturbed state enabled us to 
make some observations of value. We did not excavate areas where the 
deposit of shells was less than forty centimeters in thickness, and some 
spaces along the ocean front were left at the owner's request, but for prac- 
tical purposes it was all explored. 

It was evidently a place of residence for a considerable length of time. 
There was space for at least forty wigwams, possibly sixty, and the place 
was so situated that it could easily be defended against attack. A careful 
estimate of the number of clams in the Boynton heap is impossible, but we 
did some measuring and computing, taking into account the space occupied 
by broken shells, and our observations enabled us to estimate roughly that 
the heap contained some seven million double shells, not halves. As the 
clams are very large, fourteen would be ample for a meal for one person. 
Thus Boynton's heap would represent half a million meals. The shells are 



1G4 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



much decayed, and often nothing remains but the hinges. A comparison 
between modern "clam factory" heaps and the prehistoric accumulation 
was made by our party, and it was not difficult to distinguish one from the 
other, the modern remains being clean, fresh shells, with no debris. 
The field notes state : 

"Thursday, Aug. 28th, we took out 307 objects. Friday we 
found 224. We were in the richest part of the heap. Up to Mon- 
day, evening, September 1st, we had dug a trench 48 meters long 
N. E. and S. W. besides many smaller pits. . . . The hand-trowel 
work shows two and possibly three periods of occupancy. All indi- 
cations point to a permanent camp and show that the site was in 
use for a long time. At the bottom we find an irregular surface — 
depressions, elevations, boulders, etc. The shells left by man 
filled up these depressions and thus a uniform surface was obtained." 
This condition accounts for the shells occurring in pockets, in sunken 
places, and at various depths. In a few spots they were only half a meter 
deep, but usually three fourths of a meter to a meter and a half. Again, 
there were places in which the deposit was nearly uniform for two or three or 
even five meters. 

The top layer of shells is badly broken down to plow line, about twenty- 
five to thirty centimeters. These upper shells, although broken into very 
small fragments, are fairly firm in substance. Those lower down are more 
decayed, either from the action of water or from the earth in which they lie. 

Most of the bone tools lie near the bottom, few if any being near the 
grass roots. A very few are twenty to thirty centimeters down, but they 
usually begin to occur at forty -five to fifty centimeters and are most numer- 
ous seventy to one hundred and twenty centimeters. They lie for the most 
part in thick, dark, almost black soil, at the base of the shells. My opinion 
is that they have sifted down through the loose shells to the lower levels. 
Bone implements near the surface would be turned up in plowing and soon 
decay when separated from the ashes. Felsite arrow and spear points are, 
however, common in the top layer. 

In the second or central layer (see fig. 74) the shells are often loose — 
pure shells without much earth and not badly broken. They are brittle 
and can often be crushed in the hand. These shells lie for the most part in 
pockets one to three meters in width, and it seems as if a number of natives 
had at this particular place opened several bushels of clams. Few bones 
occur in this middle layer. As the shells are loose and must have been so 
when first deposited, it is likely that any heavier object dropped among them 
would gradually settle to the bottom. 

Figure 72 shows an average section of Boynton's where the accumula- 
tion is one to one and a third meters in depth, and might represent almost 
any part of the heap area. It clearly shows two and possibly three periods of 



SHELL HEAPS OF MAINE 165 

occupation. In layers D and G the shells are generally distributed but the 
artist has shown only deposits of clean shells. In many places and at various 
depths in Boynton's heap, great masses of clean, nearly perfect shells appear. 
It would seem that these clams were boiled or steamed and the shells thrown 
down in a heap together. More usually the shells are blackened as if the 
clams had been roasted on stones or in hot ashes. The deposits of clean 
shells, one to two meters in diameter, are free from artifacts, these objects 
being found where shells, earth, and charcoal are intermingled. The larger 
percentage of objects comes from around the large stones and muck deposits 
in the bottom layer or on the base of the heap, which is the original surface 
of the ground. 

Bone, clay, and stone objects were very numerous at Boynton's. We 
secured about five thousand in 1913, and when, after the Susquehanna ex- 
pedition of 1916, Mr. Heye* of New York employed our Maine crew to ex- 
cavate the heap further, they recovered about twenty -two hundred addition- 
al specimens. Many others must have been washed away by tides and lost, 
for Mr. Boynton claims that his "point" has narrowed at least six or eight 
meters. The grand total of objects in the heap we cannot estimate, but the 
number of seventy-two hundred catalogued in the two museums indicates 
the importance of this place to the Indians. We need not repeat the whole 
list, but these are a few of the more important groupings: Human bones 
(scattered) 8. Bone arrow points, awls, fish hooks, etc., 1568. Worked bones 
221. Harpoons and similar objects, 81. Chipped stone knives, 45. Arrow 
and spear heads, 197. Rough celts or hatchets, 93. Pottery fragments 
over 1500. In addition there were fragments of birch bark, a copper frag- 
ment, a rough slate knife, part of a stone pipe, a bit of worked hematite, and 
one small pendant. This is just our collection. 

Pottery is common at Butler's, Boynton's and Stover's shell heaps but 
rare elsewhere. Some fragments were found at Sullivan Falls and Ingalls 
Island, but no quantities except at the places named. 

Scattered throughout the heap are the bones of large and small animals, 
birds and fish. The bones are so often grouped by threes, sixes or more, 
that we concluded that the parts of one animal had been eaten and the bones 
thrown down on the same spot. The bones occur at various depths but us- 
ually more than thirty centimeters from the surface. They are frequently 
associated with charcoal or burnt stones. 

Of the great quantities of animal bones found in this heap, several bush- 
els were sent to Dr. Allen for examination. He identified the grey seal 
(kalichkoerus) as distinguished from the harbor seal, the prehistoric Indian 
dog, of which there were many bones including skulls, and the large mink. 
The bones of these three animals, the large mink, the grey seal and the In- 



* Mr. George G. Heye of the Museum of the American Indian. 



166 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



dian dog, were nearly all found in the lower layers of Boynton's and other 
shell heaps. Dr. Allen states that these three species have been extinct for 
some time. In addition to the list of mammals already identified from the 
Calf Island shell heap, he found large numbers of wolf, deer, lynx, raccoon, 
and muskrat bones. Of the birds, the cormorant, eagle, duck, goose and 
great auk seem to be most numerous. 

A peculiarity observed in most of the Maine shell heaps is that there 
are almost as many animal as fish bones. At Boynton's, fish ribs and ver- 
tebrae were common but the animal bones predominated. The writer has 
never known of claws or shells of lobsters occurring in shell heaps. Boyn- 
ton's site, having been occupied as a place of residence for a long time, would 
have furnished us some evidence of the use of lobsters for food if they had 
been so employed by the natives. Some very small, minute bones have 
been preserved in the ashes, and as lobster shells are heavier than these 
light bones, we cannot conceive how they could completely disintegrate. 
Their absence seems to be due not to decay but to the fact that the lobster 
was taboo among these Indians. 

Castine 

In 1915 our expedition located at Castine early in June and observations 
were continued there during three months. We searched along the coast for 
Red Paint People sites but found none at this time. The Tarr and Stevens 
cemeteries on Georges River were explored in August of this year, with Cas- 
tine as a base, and they are described on pages 87-93. 

There were, however, numerous shell heaps in the region of Castine. 
The two largest, on the land of Professor Von Mach and Dr. Wheeler, were 
held as "reserves", and when the men were not needed elsewhere they were 
put to work on one or the other of these two sites. The work about Castine 
became of interest to the public, especially at Von Mach's, where the scene 
of our explorations was visited by several hundred persons. The Bangor and 
Piscataquis County Historical Societies held a field meeting at this site in 
mid summer. 

Little was found in any of the shell heaps lying within the town limits 
of Castine. Whether they had been examined by residents and visitors, or 
the dearth of material is .due to their belonging to the historical period, is 
not known. My opinion is that when Indians came in contact with Euro- 
peans they abandoned stone-age implements. Moreover the location of cot- 
tages, French forts, early settlers' houses, etc. has greatly disturbed the 
ground. The site of Count Castine's Fort Pentagoet, built about 1666, was 
excavated by us so far as we could operate without damage to the walls or 
property.* We found that it had originally been built upon an ancient shell 

*Dr. Wheeler says the first French settlement at Castine was about 1614. 



SHELL HEAPS OF MAINE 



167 



heap, but the soil was so much disturbed that accurate observations would 
be impossible. Hand-made nails, some knife blades, a slender dagger, gun 
flints and other European objects were uncovered. Most of these we left 
with the Castine Library to be preserved. 

Other comparatively small heaps within a short distance of Castine 
were excavated and the contents shipped to Andover. 

We spent June 22-24 on the shell heap at Leach's Narrows owned by Mr. 
Hooper. It is six kilometers up the Bagaduce River on the north bank and 
is about forty meters long. The depth ranges from twenty centimeters to 
one meter, with an average of half a meter. We ran several trenches, con- 
necting them later, and cleaned out the pits sunk by former excavators. 
Our total trench was about eleven meters long, measured back from the 
edge. We took out many objects of bone and stone and found also near the 
surface a small copper cross, perhaps a crucifix given to some Indian warrior 
by the priest at Fort Pentagoet. There was a heavy growth of thorn bushes 
and under these we found most of the objects. Nearly all lay in black earth 
in the lowest layer of shells. There were thousands of brown-tail moths on 
small bushes, and as our men suffered greatly and were completely covered 
by the hairs, we were obliged to cease operations for a day or two. 




Cross Section of Von fllaclis Snell-Wp. 



f\_ Turf. dcrn. 

B. Upper layer of shells. 2.0cm. 
C Decayed vegetation layer. Scm. 
D, Heavy mass of shells. 10 C m. 
E Decayed vegetation layer 3cm. 



T. Shells and earth. I S crn, 
Q. Decajed. vegetation layer: %cm. 
H. Blackened shells^arth^tc. 15cm. 
I. Decayed vegetation layer* 
J. Base TnosMy es~hes. 2.0cm. 



Fig. 78. 



168 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



On June 26th we worked on a point of the mainland opposite Nautilus 
Island and south from Castine Harbor, in a cove about three hundred and 
fifty meters east of High Head. Here we found a shell heap some one hun- 
dred and ten meters long, and we started digging. Near the west end of our 
trench we found the top of a human skull, forty centimeters down, and near it 
lay some split animal bones. This was not a burial. Two meters from the 
east end of the trench and nearly one meter deep were fragments of another 
human cranium and the head of a femur. Animal bones lay next to this 
also. These deposits were kept separate in our packing boxes. Similar 
finds at Boynton's and elsewhere bring up the question of cannibalism 
among the shell-heap people, which will be discussed in our Conclusions. 
There were numerous small fragments of pottery scattered through this 
heap, and about a bushel of bones, flint chips, broken implements, etc. were 
saved. 

The shell heap on Ludlow's Point is situated less than two kilometers 
up the Bagaduce River from Leech's Narrows. The site here is small, be- 
ing not more than twenty meters in length by twelve meters in width. The 
shells are not thick, but there is a great deal of black earth, charcoal and 
ashes. The deposit varies from fifteen to thirty centimeters in depth. For 
the size of the ground, this place yielded more objects than any other in 
which we have dug. The men found about seventy chipped implements, 
one hundred worked bones, and one hundred pottery fragments, celts, etc. 
within this small space. Also the average of specimens found on this site 
was better than of those from other places, the objects exhibiting a finer 
finish. Ludlow's Point may be considered the site of a small village rather 
than a refuse shell heap of the usual character, since in such heaps the art 
is crude and few well-made specimens are found in proportion to the whole 
number of objects. 

Wheeler's Cove Shell Heap. While the men were working at Ludlow's 
Point, the boys and I spent our time on a shell heap lying on the south side 
of High Head, at a place which we named Wheeler's Cove, in honor of Dr. 
George A. Wheeler,* who has given us much information concerning this re- 
gion. This heap was over one hundred meters long and from one-fifth to 
two-thirds of a meter in depth. W T ork was done here on June 26, 28, 30, and 
July 1-3. Four or five test pits were sunk and these were gradually extended 
until they joined in the form of one large trench, the area dug out being about 
forty by twenty meters. We recovered 1114 objects, of which 319 were pot- 
tery fragments and the remainder bone and stone, but the percentage of 
worked bones and stones was not high. Although so near Fort Pentagoet, 
only three or four objects denoting contact with Europeans were discovered. 
On the last day of work a skeleton, fairly well preserved, was found, the head 
lying a few centimeters down in the shells. (See fig. 77.) 

* Author of "Castine, Past and Present." Boston, 189G. 



SHELL HEAPS OF MAINE 169 

The shore here is rather rough and rocky, although there is still a large 
clam flat in front of it. We concluded that the Indians came here only to eat 
clams and that there were no cabins or wigwams on the site. It was a short 
distance by canoe from better beaches, and Nautilus Island or Henry's 
Point were better suited for habitation. As the extent of our excavations 
was such that we had given the heap a good test, the results did not seem to 
justify further work here. 

Von Mack's Shell Heap. The largest shell heap near Castine is on the 
estate of Professor Edmund Von Mach, who owns the land known as Henry's 
Point, lying about two kilometers east of Castine, across the mouth of the 
Bagaduce River. This heap is two hundred meters long or more, and lies 
nearly east and west, following a slight curve of the shore line. The bank 
on which it is situated is four or five meters above high tide. The location is 
ideal for an Indian camp, being rather level, with a gentle upward slope 
toward the north. 

Professor Von Mach kindly gave permission for unlimited exploration 
and we decided to make a thorough excavation, as this large heap might give 
us data on the culture of the Castine Indians. There was no more promising 
site in the neighborhood and diligent search had failed to reveal any interior 
village site. Again, as it was some distance from Boynton's and still further 
from the Mount Desert heaps, some difference in local culture might be ob- 
served. Accordingly we decided to put a crew of three or four men at work 
here, who would change places with a second crew for the reasons stated 
(p. 154) keeping the work continuous. Work was begun on July 14, and for 
two months, from two to six men labored on this heap. Our total excava- 
tions are estimated to equal one hundred meters in length and forty in width. 

The heap varies from one third of a meter to one and one half meters in 
depth and near the center of the deposit the shells extend back toward the 
north for at least thirty meters. It is said that five or six meters of the bank 
next to the sea have been washed away during storms. The test pits devel- 
oped the fact that a thin layer of shells extends nearly two hundred meters 
toward the east from the center or thickest part of the heap. If one counted 
to the end of this layer, the heap would extend to the shore line opposite 
Professor Von Mach's residence and be more than three hundred meters 
long, but we began measuring from the sunken road leading from his mead- 
ow down to the ocean, and consider the main part of the heap to be about 
two hundred meters, as stated. The central portion of the heap was, roughly, 
one hundred meters by twenty-five meters and varied from two thirds to 
one and a half meters in thickness. 

Our first trench was twenty-seven meters in length and twelve in width. 
Very little was found in the upper layer, most of the bone and stone objects 
being near the bottom. Much of the heap was dug out with hand trowels, 
although the ordinary tools were used for the heavy work. We frequently 




Fig. 79. At top, fragment of decorated pottery, later Algonquian ; below, two fragments of decorated 
pottery, Archaic Algonquian. S. 1-2. Von Math's. 







Fig. 80. Fragments of decorated pottery. Archaic Algonquian. S. 1-2. Von Mach's 



SHELL HEAPS OF MAINE 



171 



found areas of two or three meters where there were very few objects. In 
such places four or five men would shovel the shells and debris back of them 
and five students or boys would look over this material with hand trowels. 
This hand-trowel work resulted in the finding of more objects than were re- 
covered when we used other tools. We did not explore all of the heap, for the 
reason that our finds were duplications of previous acquisitions and we need- 
ed the men for other work. A number of drawings were made by my son, 
since the photographs did not come out clearly. 

Nothing very remarkable was learned from a detailed study of the shell 
heap itself. There were several depressions due to the natural irregularities 
of the surface or possibly to fire places dug into the ground when the first 
wigwams were built. In all shell heaps the ashes are thickest and the most 
objects are found where these depressions occur. The surface of the heap is 
quite regular, sloping gently toward the sea, and the irregularities are there- 
fore at the base line, not on the surface. 





Fig. 81. Large, stone celt or hatchet blades. Boynton's shell heap. S. about 1-4. 




Fig. 82. Small, stone celts from Boynton, Stover and Wardwell shell heaps. S. 1-3. 




I a 








Fig. 83. Stone celts of the smallest forms. From Boynton, Stover, Sullivan Falls shell heaps. 
S. about 1-2. 



174 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



It is evident that this heap was a long time in forming. There were 
numerous layers, which were most noticeable in the thickest portion of the 
heap, but at no point were more than four in evidence.* These did not ex- 
tend more than ten meters continuously in any place. Frequently they ran 
six or seven meters and then became irregular. These layers are due to 
different periods of occupation but it is not probable that the entire surface 
was evenly occupied at one time. Rather, there must have been first a 
cluster of a few wigwams at one spot; then possibly years elapsed and the 
mound of shells, fire stones, etc., left by the aborigines became covered with 
grass or other growth; then other Indians visited the spot and built; their 
structures went up on the former site, and thus the heap accumulated. 

All the shells from top to bottom are apparently of the same species as 
the clams found today about Castine, although the average size is much lar- 
ger. Some of them were saved for examination. In many places the shells 
were burnt. There are not so many shells at the base as higher up, the lower 
stratum consisting chiefly of charcoal and ashes, with more large burnt rocks 
than are found in the middle layers. These boulders must have been upon the 
original surface of the ground. It seems possible that Indians lived here 
before they began to eat clams, although the absence of shells in the bottom 
layer (see fig. 78) may be due to their having decayed, as they must of neces- 




* See fig. 78, from a drawing. The photograph did not show the layers, which were apparent to 
the eye but not sufficiently clear as to colors or shades to affect the lens. 




Fig. 84. Large tools for grinding, polishing, etc., Stover's site. S. about 1-4. 



SHELL HEAPS OF MAINE 175 

sitybe very old. At one point we found twelve or fifteen large fire stones 
lying in a rough circular depression, which may have constituted an Indian 
neartn or tire place. 

Near the western end of our trench there was a very heavy growth of 
thorn bushes along the ocean front, which the men cut back some twelve 
meters in order to dig under them. In the middle of these bushes was a pile 
ot heavy stones which had been hauled out by farmers and dumped over the 
edge of the bank and had not been moved for forty or fifty years, according 
to the testimony of o d residents. I mention this particularly because sev- 
eral persons told me that Von Mach's heap had been previously explored I 
am not aware, nor can I find any record, that scientific exploration of shell 
heaps had been made previous to 1880, in the State of Maine; certainly no 
one had ever explored under the large stone heap which we moved. We 
worked very carefully under it, but could find no more objects there than at 
other points in the heap, which seems to prove that the rest of the heap was 
also m an undisturbed condition. Just west of our main pits and running 
rom the face of the bluff toward the ocean we found two small trenches, 
three and five meters long and now overgrown with small bushes, which must 
have been dug eight or ten years before. These were the only traces of pre- 
vious work. l 

Something over twenty-four hundred artifacts were taken from Von 
Mach s shell heap, 537 being pottery fragments and the bone implements 
(awls, fish hooks and harpoons) numbering 1074. There were several bone 
gouges, one long slender one measuring twenty centimeters. At a number of 
points we found hammer stones, discs, or turtlebacks, and a great quantity of 
small chips and spalls. This was where the ancient implement maker fash- 
ioned his tools. We saved such deposits carefully, entire, as they usually 
occurred within a space one third to one meter in extent. Numerous flat, 
slightly hollowed stones, known as anvils, were taken out. These too were 
usually surrounded by numbers of the flint chips, spalls, etc. of a workshop 

The best pottery was found one half meter to one meter below the sur- 
face Some of the fragments fitted together, but it is my opinion that it 
would be impossible to restore more than one-third of any single clay vessel. 
Some very fine decorated pottery, shown in figs. 79 and 80, was found by 
Mr. Sugden at the base line near the eastern end of our trench, but he was 
unableto secure pieces enough to restore an entire jar or bowl, although he 
worked with a hand trowel for a distance of three meters in every direction. 
The decorations and form indicate one of the finest pottery vessels ever dis- 
covered on the New England coast. 

* The stones were carefully removed and transported by Dr. Philbrick to his residence in Castine 
where they were built into an open-air fireplace on his lawn. 



176 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



Careful study failed to reveal any European objects in either upper or 
lower layers. In fact, in all our diggings in this neighborhood no objects of 
French, Dutch, or English origin were discovered except a few in Wheeler's 
Cove heap and now and then one in the shell heaps on the Bagaduce River. 
Some fragments of human skeletons were found, notably the heads of fem- 
urs. Why the head of the femur should be preserved rather than other bones, 
I do not understand. 

Whether the site was inhabited by the so-called Red Paint People, 1 
cannot determine, but my opinion is that it was not so inhabited, although it 
is apparently prehistoric. It seems to belong to the general shell-heap 

culture. 

The surprising thing in connection with the two largest shell heaps near 
Castine — Wheeler's Cove and Von Mach's — is that, although the area of 
either one almost equals that of Boynton's at Lamoine, the number of speci- 
mens found is by no means so large. Indeed, three smaller heaps in this re- 
gion yielded many more objects in proportion to their size than the large 
This cannot be due to previous exploration so much as to the fact that 



ones. 



the Indians on these larger sites did not leave any considerable number of 

tools. .11 

While the men were digging at Von Mach's, I took a few ol the boys and 
visited Hog Island, ten kilometers south of Castine, and looked at the shell 
heap there, which is larger than any of those located nearer Castine. We al- 
so dug several pits on the shell heap situated on the adjoining island, known 
as Pond Island. The largest of these heaps is at one point nearly two meters 
deep, but it has been greatly disturbed and we did not do much digging. We 
found very large quahogs and clam shells, some of them twenty-three cen- 
timeters in diameter, which we saved; also a beautiful pin or hair ornament 
about thirty centimeters long and carved from solid bone. This is the larg- 
est bone implement I ever saw taken from a shell heap. 

The work about Castine was completed by inspecting some of the shell 
heaps about the eastern part of Penobscot Bay and on Eggemoggin Reach. 
We ran a trench through the large heap on Dr. J. Howard Wilson's estate on 
Nautilus Island, but the objects found indicate the same type as those dis- 
covered at Von Mach's. Further research in the shell heaps of Castine may 
yield more objects, but we assume that they will be of the same general char- 
acter and will add little to our present sum of knowledge. 



MATERIAL FROM THE SHELL HEAPS 177 











*•' 



}%§*-■ 




Fig. 85. Series of hammer-stones. Boynton's shell heap. S. about 2-5. 

B. Material from the Shell Heaps 

During several years of explorations in the State of Maine, we dug in 
some thirty-five or forty shell heaps. In those heaps in which very little 
pottery or few bone or stone implements occurred, we stopped work after 
opening four or five pits. A large crew was taken along and therefore it was 
possible in one day, with an average of ten men and boys, to excavate an area 
8 m. in length, 6 m. in width and 1 m. deep. Therefore if a day's work in a 
shell heap resulted in finding less than fifty or sixty objects, the heap was 
abandoned and we got aboard our boats and moved to another site. 

Of the shell heaps examined, there were ten or twelve in which con- 
siderable work was done, and since these have been mentioned, no further 
general description of them is required. In these heaps there was no uni- 
form amount of material to be found in each square meter. One small sec- 
tion would contain ten to fifty chips, spalls, bones, tools, etc. while an- 
other in the same site yielded up very few artifacts or little refuse. The 
places where we found the most debris were undoubtedly wigwam floors and 
those marked by masses of clean shells were where the natives ate their 
clams out of doors in good weather and threw the shells down near where 
they sat. Where the traces of fires were heaviest, we found the most other 
indications of human occupancy. This would be the case on sites occupied in 
the early spring or through the winter, when shelter was necessary. The 
Boynton, Stover, Von Mach and Butler sites seem to have been such per- 
manent camps, for so much material would not occur in small spots, about 
mere late spring or summer residences. It would be more scattered and have 
less kitchen-midden accumulation. 





•■'•-', 



V 




Fig. 86. The split human tibiae, ornaments and pipe from the shell heaps. S. 4-5. 



\ 









Fig. 87. Oval or primary.f orms of chipped objects. Stevens', Boynton's, and Wardwell's sites. S. 1-2. 





■- ■ 




Fig. 88. Eleven finished and unfinished knife forms. Some of these might be worked into arrow- 
points. S. about 1-3. 



180 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



The implements found in the shell heaps are mostly service tools of one 
kind or another and are to be sharply distinguished from artifacts accom- 
panying burials. "Nothing common or unclean" will apply to the average 
mortuary offerings of Indians; the reverse is true of kitchen-midden and 
shell-heap finds. Here we have the work-tools, vessels and other objects 
used in daily life about the camps or wigwams. The finer personal posses- 
sions and tools are absent, so much so that it is an almost daily remark, on 
the part of the survey corps, that nothing really fine or artistic in the way of 
implement is discovered in these places. We shall illustrate later a few spe- 
cialized bone tools and perhaps two or three ornamental stones, but compar- 
ing the hundreds of square meters of excavations in shell heaps with the 
amount of digging in cemeteries, the proportion of well- wrought artifacts 
in the heaps is practically a negligible quantity. 

A general sub-title, therefore, for all shell-heap finds except the shells 
and broken animal bones should be utility or service tools. Under this head 
we might group them tentatively as follows :* 

Stone 
Celts 



Ground 



Pecked or 
Battered 



Hatchets 

Rubbing stones 

Plummets 

Axes 

Pipes 



Hammer stones 
Pestles 



Chipped 
Unfinished 



Chipped 
Finished 



Bone 



Unfinished 



Cut or ground bones 

Awls 

Handles 

Jaws 

Long bones 



Finished 



Clay 
Pottery 
Pipes 



Turtlebacks 
Discs 
Blanks 
Blades 
Hammer stones 

Spear heads 
Arrow heads 
Scrapers 
Knives 
Drills 
Flake knives 

Awls, single 
Awls, double 
Arrow points 
Fish hooks 
Ornaments 
Handles 

Decorated bones 
Harpoons 

Beaver-tooth chisels 
Flaking tools 



* At some future time this elassifieation should be expanded and worked out in detail, since there 
is abundant material for a monograph on this single feature of prehistoric life in New England. 



GROUND STONE 181 



Ground Stone 



The majority of the ground stone objects are rude rubbing stones and 
oval stones varying from eleven to twenty-two centimeters in length, which 
appear to be on the border line between the celt-hatchet form and the or- 
dinary rubbing stone. Pebbles of various materials in suitable sizes oc- 
curred along the shore-line. Natives selected those most nearly of the de- 
sired form, transported them to the village and ground them to sharp edges 
for hatchets or celt blades. They knocked fragments from either side along 
the edges of others jand used them probably as short hand clubs. Fig. 81 
presents three of the large celt-like forms with fairly sharp edges, from Boyn- 
ton's shell heap. The originals of these are about eighteen centimeters in 
length. They are made of granite, while others are of trap and heavy slate. 
These forms are rather oval in cross section and do not differ from the ordi- 
nary celts such as occur on Algonkian sites throughout New England. Smal- 
ler celts or hatchet blades are shown in fig. 82. These are from WardwelPs, 
Stover's, and Boynton's shell heaps. All of them are blackened by contact 
with charcoal and ashes. Fig. 83 illustrates the very small chisel-like blades 
common in the heaps, which range from six to twelve centimeters in length. 
None of these tools show any specialization and they were probably used in 
removing hides from animals and scraping hides to reduce them to proper 
thinness for robes or clothing. 

In our collections there are at least four hundred hatchets, celts and 
rough stones which might be classed either as unfinished hatchets or as 
stone clubs. Fig. 84 is a series of four large stone tools found in Stover's 
shell heap, similar to those from Boynton's and elsewhere, ranging from 
twelve to twenty-two centimeters in length. They are not edged and there- 
fore can not be classed as hatchets or celts, but all show marks of abrasion. 
Whether these were used for breaking bones in order to extract marrow, or 
served as general hand weapons, the writer is unable to state. One thing is 
certain, they are not edged tools. They might be rude pestles. It is a simple 
matter to arrange a continuous series beginning with the well-defined celt 
or hatchet and ending in the elongated, club-like stone object. At some 
future time, when some one makes a detailed study of all the thousands of 
implements from the shell heaps, in the Peabody, Bangor, Andover and oth- 
er museums, we may be able to assign specific uses to such objects. Space 
forbids further discussion here. 

So few plummets were found that we may pass to the axes, of which we 
have but two or three. They are large, rough and grooved, and do not differ 
from ordinary Algonkian forms of the hafted axe. No Red Paint People 
forms of adze blades were found by our surveys in the shell heaps. This 
seems significant and should be the subject of careful research in the future. 

Under the term pecked or battered stones are the hammer stones, seven 



182 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



of which are shown in fig. 85, from Boynton's shell heap. These are very 
common and may be the ground, carefully worked hammer, or the irregular 
quartz, granite or trap-rock hand hammer. They do not differ essentially 
from hammer stones found elsewhere in the United States. 

Two ornaments of fine-grained sandstone were discovered in Stover's 
shell heap and these are shown full size in fig. 86. Both were down near the 
bottom and lay in a deposit of decayed shells and animal bones. The effigy 
pendant is more nearly like Red Paint forms than anything else we found, 
but the flat, incised ornament is rather different. 

Chipped Stone 

One would naturally suppose that next to bone implements and tools, 
the usual chipped knives, scrapers, projectile points and flint rejects would be 
most common in the shell heaps. This supposition is entirely correct. Great 
quantities of felsite, quartz, quartzite and occasionally dark flint artifacts 
occurred in the heaps. It is not difficult to classify them, for most of the 
finished ones are simple forms. 

By far the greatest quantity of chipped material, however, consists of 
large flakes and spalls, which, if found elsewhere than in shell heaps, might be 
classified as rejects. Considering the simplicity of shell-heap tools, it is 
more likely that many such fragments of felsite, quartzite and kindred ma- 
terial, from five to fourteen centimeters in length, were used as tools in open- 
ing clams and splitting bones, sawing bones into sections, etc. In fact, a 
skilful blow with a stone hammer on a block of Kineo felsite would produce a 
large flake with a very sharp, thin edge, which might well serve as a knife. 
It is not to be supposed that the shell-heap dwellers would resort to the 
trouble of working out a complete knife when a flake would serve the pur 
pose just as well. It is now known that the dwellers in European caves, 
prior to the higher development of stone-age art, made use of large flakes as 
knives. Many hundreds of such flakes have been found in our shell heaps, 
and probably several thousand at Boynton's alone. One is shown on the 
right in fig. 91 . Although our survey retained large numbers of them, a great 
many were not preserved. Had they been, our total of 7,200 specimens of 
human handiwork from Boynton's would have been considerably augmented. 

The finished specimens, in the order of frequency, are; (1) Forms with- 
out stem, either oval (leaf-shaped) or triangular. (2) With stem (shoul- 
dered) but not barbed. (3) Shouldered and barbed. (4) Scrapers. There 
are no specialized knives and very few drills. The oval forms such as are 
shown in figs. 87 and 88, are seldom classed by archaeologists as projectile 
points. They are probably small knives, although they may have been pro- 
jectile points.* They vary from about six to twelve centimeters in length. 

* See the "Baltimore Classification," Baltimore meeting of the American Anthropological Asso- 
ciation, December, 1908, in American Anthropologist, Jan. -Mar. 1909, pp. 116-118; or "Stone Age 
in North America," W. K. M., pp. 23 ff. 



CHIPPED STONE 183 

The nine shown came from Stover's, Boynton's, and Ward well's sites. Fig. 
88 illustrates eleven simpler, not specialized forms, in which it will be ob- 
served that there is little or no secondary chipping. Fig. 92 represents four 
knives, two from Von Mach's shell heap and two from Boynton's, of mofe 
specialized form than is usual in shell heaps. Fig. 90 illustrates four chipped 
objects from Von Mach's and Boynton's. Attention is called to the con- 
trast between the two slender knives and the rather thick, oval forms, which 
are the most common. Fig. 89 shows five typical shell-heap knives from Von 
Mach's and Boynton's sites. They are of felsite and well wrought and for 
the most part have straight bases. Fig. 91 illustrates on the left a sharp knife, 
one end rather straight, the other rounded, which is also a common arti- 
fact. In the center is a heavy flake, chipped along the side; it might be 
termed an elongated scraper. These are rather common. To the right is a 
heavy flake-knife of the kind described on the preceding page. There are 
few if any large spears or knives, and it is probable that the shell-heap people 
usually contented themselves with making rather small chipped objects. 

Fig. 93 is a series of scrapers. We seldom find the specialized, spoon- 
shaped scraper or the notched scraper, nearly all ours being of the ordina- 
ry oval forms shown here. The natives in the west re-chipped the edge of a 
broken arrow head to convert it into a scraper, but this practice does not ap- 
pear along the Maine coast. Most of the scrapers here are wrought from 
flakes, but occasionally from broken knives. 

The nearest approach to the drill form is seen in the second from the 
right in fig. 94. These objects are probably small, slender knives, rather than 
perforators. The arrow points and spear heads are of the long, slender forms 
shown in fig. 95. These specimens are from Stover's, Ward well's, and Boyn- 
ton's shell heaps but are also typical of finds in chipped objects from the 
Castine region. 

We spoke of the rarity of fine workmanship in the chipped objects. 
Fig. 96 shows the best of the larger forms we found. The longest spear head 
is bevelled and almost rotary, which is not usual in Maine. The broad, al- 
most "pennate" spear head was originally longer, but became broken, was 
re-chipped and made serviceable. The two deeply barbed points are above 
average workmanship. Such projectiles are not types but either mark 
occasional ability of shell-heap dwellers to do unusually good work or they 
may have been acquired by aboriginal trade from elsewhere. As will be ob- 
served later in this volume, much finer art in chipped stone is found on the in- 
terior village sites than in the shell heaps. 

In speaking of the materials, we use the term "Kineo felsite, " but there 
are many boulders of this same material along the Maine coast and it is 
quite likely that local material, as well as that from Kineo, was used. 




Fig. 89. Typical shell heap knives from Von Mach's and Boynton's. S. 3-5. 




tflsBS^ 





Fig. 90. Slender and broad knives from Von Maeh's and Boynton's shell heaps. S. 1-2. 





- if 

1 IMS 

I 'KB 

II 
If 

Fig. 91. Short knife and elongated scrapes, and one of the heavy flake knives; Boynton's. S. 1-2. 





Mr 



w wk 




ml. *B' » 

i 'uisimmB 

WWmS 

WXMWi/Mw 

WKttB 

WW 




Jjg 

ftT i,, « 1 'i ,| li(((.l^'*W 




a, 



H; 




■.-'.,.'- 



■ma 



:■■■ ; i f i 

IP 



Fig. 92. Knives of more specialized forms, from Von Mach's and Boynton's shell heaps. S. 1-2. 



186 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



Pottery 
As stated before, we have been unable to restore any entire vessel from 
the pottery found in the shell heaps. In figs. 79 and 80 some of the frag- 
ments of decorated pottery are shown. They are of the types called archaic 
Algonkian and later Algonkian by Mr. Willoughby in his study of the pot- 
tery of the New England Indians in the Putnam Anniversary Volume.* 
A comparison of the large number of fragments found in our shell heaps with 
his text and illustrations indicates that what he terms archaic Algonkian pot- 
tery is most common here. We find some fragments of later Algonkian, 
particularly at Von Mach's (upper object in fig. 79) and elsewhere about 
Castine, but it is not common in the heaps. Careful study of the Phillips 
Academy collection might reveal some Iroquoian, but the writer has ob- 
served none of it. 

Some comments in the article cited on the pottery from the great oyster- 
shell mounds at Damariscotta are of interest. Professor Putnam placed an 
observer on the spot at the time one of the larger mounds, known as the 
Whaleback, was levelled in order that the shells might be ground for com- 
mercial purposes. Pottery was found scattered throughout the heap, and 
some archaic Algonkian was at a depth of nearly five meters. A decoration 
of broad vertical bands of incised or indented ornament, which Mr. Wil- 
loughby calls an unusual arrangement seen only in very old specimens from 
the lowest layer at Damariscotta, occur also on some fragments from the 
shell heaps examined by our surveys. 

Mr. Willoughby states:** "It seems that the art of pottery-making was 
not indigenous to these states, but was brought to this region at a period 
nearly approaching the time when shell-fish were first used for food 
along our coast. Moreover, but little if any advance was made in this art 
during the long period necessary for the accumulation of most of the shell 
heaps, pottery from the lower layers showing the same general characteris- 
tics in composition of paste, in form, and in decoration, as that from the up- 
per layers." 



* New York, 1909, pp. 83-101. 
** Loc. cit., p. 88. 














%: ^ 





. 



Fig. 93. A series of scrapers. Calf Island, Stover's, Boynton's and Butler's. S. 3-4. 




3 
O 

_o 

oS 

w 



a. 

oS 



on 

V 
-d 






£ 

c 



O 
2. 



O 
■- 

u 
a 

■~ 

e8 

"3 
d 



d 

a3 

on 
> 

"a 

d 



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a 

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fa 



BONES 189 

The earliest pottery was apparently of the pointed-base type. Later 
this was modified, especially after contact with the Iroquois, and the bases 
became more rounded, but in strictly prehistoric sites more of the pointed- 
base type is found than of the later Algonkian. Iroquoian potters seem to 
have been more skilled than the Indians of New England. The natives of 
Maine were not skilled potters and they used ordinary crushed shells or pow- 
dered conglomerate for tempering, in the place of lime. Willoughby has 
expressed the opinion that perhaps their clay was not carefully selected. 
Possibly our Indians might have developed a higher ceramic art had they 
used better materials. 

It is suggested that when the next large, undisturbed shell heap is ex- 
plored, the entire structure be hand-trowelled and all pottery fragments 
found within an area of four or five meters kept together. Such a procedure 
would be very expensive but by such means it might be possible to secure 
enough related fragments to restore, or partly restore, some entire vessels. 
The exhaustive study of New England Indian pottery recommended by Mr. 
Willoughby, might well be deferred until more original exploration or field 
work has been carried on throughout the country east of the Hudson River. 

Bones 

Doctor Allen, in his examination of the skeletal material from the heaps, 
has stated that* there were more deer bones present than those of any other 
animal. Messrs. Loomis and Young, in their report on the several shell 
heaps investigated,* state that not only is every long bone split or crushed, 
but that small bones such as the toes are also broken to secure the marrow. 
As the condition of the deer crania which they found may have a bearing 
among other things upon the time of year at which the shell-heap sites were 
occupied, I quote from their report on Sawyer's Island shell heap as follows :** 
"There were 53 crania preserved, of which 52 belonged to males and only 
one to a female. Mills concludes*** from a similar state of affairs in the 
Baum Village Site, that the Indians showed a foresight for perpetuating the 
deer in advance of that now exercised by man generally. However, from 
studying the small fragments of other crania, we feel that the explanation is 
to be sought in another direction. The crania were always broken open to 
get out the brain. In the case of males with the heavy frontals, strengthened 
to support the antlers, the smashing of the brain case was done in the parietal 
region, the thickened frontals remaining intact; while in the case of females, 
the frontal bones being thin, the cranium was broken through this region, 
or they were at least also broken in getting the brain out. So only in males 
are the front parts of the cranium preserved intact. 



* See p. 119, foot note. 
** Loc. cit., p. 23. 



*** "Ohio Arch, and Hist. Soc. Quart. XV, p. 79. 1906. 




* 



t 









Fig. 95. Typical arrow-points and spear-heads from the shell heaps. S. 2-3. 



BONE IMPLEMENTS 



191 





Fig. 96. Fire hafted, chipped objects from Boynton's, Butler's and Von Mach's. 
from shell heaps are more simple than this. S. 1-2. 



Usually the forms 



"Another interesting feature of the crania is the fact that 52 of the 53 
crania belonged to individuals who had recently shed their antlers and had 
not as yet grown new ones. In other words, these deer were killed in the 
spring. The absence of individuals with partly developed or perfect antlers 
indicates, further, that the camps were simply spring camps, which also 
coincides with the best fishing season, and is the evidence that these heaps 
were made during periodic visits to the sites." 

As there were many caribou in Maine when the first settlements were 
established it is curious that so few caribou bones are found in the shell heaps. 
Either that animal came in, in comparatively recent times, or the caribou 
kept back from the coast. Old hunters inform the writer that there were still 
many caribou north of Bangor and particularly in the Mt. Katahdin region 
in their early days, but they were not to be found near the sea. This may 
account for the absence of caribou bones in the heaps. 

Bone Implements 

Willoughby's suggestion that the pottery of New England should be 
studied in detail applies also to the thousands of worked bone tools, bones in 
process of manufacture into implements, and broken bones, in the Salem, 
Cambridge, Andover, Portland, Castine, New York and other museums. 
A large volume could be prepared upon the technology of this wealth of ma- 
terial scattered throughout the museums. 

Bone was much more easily worked than stone. Moreover, it was al- 
ways obtainable. In the winter, when because of ice or snow it might be 
difficult or inconvenient to procure stone, there were always in the wigwam 
the bones of various animals which had been killed for food. It is quite 
natural that the Indians, having eaten the bird or the animal, would make 



192 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 




Fig. 97. Antler-ends, worked into implements. Butler's, Hodgkins", Boynton's sites. S. 1-2. 



use of the material thus conveniently at hand. Even the process of splitting 
the larger bones to extract marrow, suggested the making of harpoons, ar- 
row points, fish hooks, awls, ornaments or knife handles from the fragments. 

Teeth of Animals. When a large animal was killed and the skull broken 
to extract the brain, the fancy of the savage was attracted by the teeth. He 
usually removed those of bears, panthers and wolves and drilled them for sus- 
pension as ornaments, as is shown in fig. 75. We find in the heaps great 
quantities of teeth of large and small animals and our figure presents the 
animals named and in addition, the lynx, mink and beaver. These are all 
carnivora. The teeth of the moose, deer, beaver or raccoon were rarely 
perforated. Beaver teeth were sharpened and employed as chisels for work- 
ing wood. We have at Andover several hundreds, most of which have thus 
been treated. They were probably inserted in short handles and used on 
pine, spruce or soft maple, for the manufacture and planing down of wooden 
objects or utensils. 

Large Bones. The ends of antlers of deer and moose were sometimes 
used as awls, but more frequently, being blunt, as is shown in figs. 97 and 98 
probably served as heads of clubs. The smaller deer prongs from southern 
and western village sites are frequently pointed and were used as awls. This 
custom did not obtain to any extent among the dwellers of the shell heaps. 
A few bone gouges were found in Von Mach's and Boynton's, but they were 
not common. They are usually made of moose antler for the reason that the 
moose horns were broader and hence more serviceable as gouges than the 
deer antlers. The larger bones served also as handles for stone tools, but 
most of them appear to have been cut into lengths for harpoons and fish 
hooks, and many of them are probably chipping tools for working quartz, 



BONE IMPLEMENTS 193 

chert and felsite. The femur, tibia and humerus were heavy, and much 
stronger or more substantial tools could be made from these bones than from 
smaller ones. Fig. 99 at bottom, shows a heavy moose bone partly cut. The 
native's design was to split it carefully, then probably to resplit the halves 
and make handles. We secured various bones of the deer, bear, and moose 
along which deep grooves have been cut, apparently with flint knives, for 
the purpose stated. These heavy bones having thus been divided, were 
worked down further until such forms as those illustrated in fig. 99 resulted. 
All are made from solid bones. These cut or grooved bones are numerous 
and vary from 5 to 15 cm. in length. 

Many of the cuttings indicate that the natives were working to secure 
sections of solid bones for short implements. More than fifteen hundred 
small, pointed polished objects were recovered in the two explorations of 
Boynton's shell heap. (See fig. 100.) 

These implements might be used as arrow heads or as fish hooks. Fish 
were very plentiful and it was comparatively easy for the Indians to go out 
in their canoes and catch cod, hake, haddock, and other fish a short distance 
off shore. For this purpose a straight hook was just as serviceable as a 
curved hook, which might break. Where cod are numerous, it is not diffi- 
cult to catch them even with such primitive tackle. An experiment has been 
tried by one or two members of the survey and resulted satisfactorily. Of 
the curved fish hook, the only one the writer has observed from Maine was 
found on the shore of Chesuncook Lake by Mr. Marks. It is unusually 
large and strong and served for catching lake trout or large brook trout. 
Curved hooks, barbed and notched for attachment to the line, are very 
common in village sites in the west and south but seem practically absent in 

Maine. 

Bone Handles. Reference has been made to handles for tools, made of 
bone. Three of these are shown in fig. 98. The one in the lower right hand 
corner is an unusual form, the others are common. Some of the poorer so- 
called handles were probably chipping tools and it is somewhat difficult 
to separate those that should be so classified from the tool handles. Fig. 
106 presents two of the more carefully made handles. 

Awls and Needles. A great many slender awls and smaller pointed ob- 
jects, which may be needles, were found. Eleven of them are illustrated in 
fig. 101 . The two or three thinnest ones are made from large fish ribs, others 
from bones of birds and animals. These awls come from Von Mach's, 
Boynton's and Stover's shell heaps. There is nothing to distinguish them 
in form or manufacture from bone awls common in Indian sites. However, 
the one to the right is an exception. It is cut from a long, solid bone (per- 
haps moose) and is 26 cm. in length by 4 to 6 mm. wide. Found about one 
meter deep in shell heap. Neither is there anything special to remark with 
reference to the position of any of these bone tools. Two or three were 






Fig. 98. Bone handles and flaking tools. Boynton's. S. 3-5. 



List Page(s) 






It 



[ 




Fig. 99. Two large awls, two bone handles, broken harpoon, two heavy bones deeply incised, — (many 
of these have been found). Natives seem to have made their harpoons and arrow-points from heavy 
bones of the moose, deer and caribou. S. 3-4. 



I 



I 






Fig. 100. Typical arrow-points and fish hooks of which several thousand have been found. From 
shell heaps. S. 1-1. 



? .>;.- 





Fig. 101. Series of awls or perforators. The one to the right, (57664) — Pond Island shell heap is 
-26 cms. in length. S. 3-5. 






Fiq. 102. Series of harpoons, from Boynton's, Butler's, Von Mach's and Stover's shell heaps. S. 3-4. 



BONE IMPLEMENTS 199 

found within a few centimeters of each other, but so far as we are aware no 
group or cache of them has occurred. 

Hcwpoons. By far the most interesting series of bone implements con- 
sists of the specialized fishing tools, or harpoons. Fig. 104 shows several of 
the larger ones wrought from the heavy bones of large animals. They are 
from Boynton's shell heap. The larger object in the figure is about two cen- 
timeters in width and ten centimeters in length. Of the upper one, about 
one-third remains. These have seldom been found perfect. Fig. 103 por- 
trays twelve harpoons from Boynton's, Stover's and Butler's shell heaps, 
and illustrates the different forms, from the slender, single-barbed to those 
with several barbs. Specialized forms are shown in fig. 102. Fig 103 pre- 
sents three interesting harpoons. The upper left one is notched on one side, 
as are most of larger harpoons. Small ones are usually serrated on both 
sides. In fig. 99 is a broken harpoon of unknown length which is perforated 
in the center. Usually they are perforated at the end. Fig. 102 presents 
harpoons from Butler's and Boynton's shell heaps, those in the upper right 
and lower left corners having unusually small serrations. In all these 
figures we have thirty harpoons of various kinds from the shell heaps. The 
lower row in fig. 103 are the most common forms, especially the delicately 
shaped small ones, which are from five to eight centimeters in length. Of 
the longer ones, the originals are nine to twelve centimeters in length. The 
small ones, pointed at either end and carefully serrated, are as fine examples 
of aboriginal art in harpoon manufacture as any that we obtain from the 
shell-heaps. Fig. 105 presents, in two projectile points, a striking varia- 
tion from the established types that we have been describing. The larger 
one, which was found in Boynton's shell heap near the bottom, is probably 
made from the femur of a moose or deer, although at first it was thought to 
be worked from a human femur, is shown full size. It is rather thick and 
somewhat curved on the inner side, and is the only large spear head of bone 
found in the heaps, so far as we can ascertain. 

In this figure, at the top, is a portion of a long, decorated bone. Several 
of these were discovered, but always broken. A few slender perforated flat 
ribs, pointed at one end were also secured from the lower layers. 

In this fig. 105 are six tools, four of which are double-pointed and all 
cut from heavy bones. Most of them are gracefully tapered or angular. The 
one nearest the point of the bone spear head suggests a drill in bone. Wheth- 
er these are specialized awls or short harpoons, I am unable to state, 

C. Conclusions 

A number of interesting comments might be made as a result of the in- 
tensive work in these shell heaps. Messrs. Loomis and Young thought that 
the sites varied as to the predominating material found, whether of bone, or 
stone, or food remains. We have been unable to tabulate all the accumula- 






II 




Fig. 103. Series of harpoons, from Boynton's, Butler's, Von Mach's and Stover's shell heaps. S. 1-1. 




. 





Fig. 104. The largest harpoons, some of which are perforated. S. 1 3. 



202 MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 

tions of our years of work and therefore cannot present statistical tables, but 
after somewhat careful observation, the writer concludes that, although 
there are differences between the materials and life forms of one site as 
against another, these differences are not sufficiently marked to change the 
general character of our conclusions. 

In Fig. 86 is our most interesting specimen. It is part of a human tibia, 
shown 4-5 size, and was split, apparently purposely, as were the bones of 
deer and moose. This fragment of human femur was found associated with 
other broken human bones in Boynton's heap, but there were not enough to 
account for even five percent of a human skeleton. Reference has been 
made in the text to other fragmentary human bones found in these shell 
heaps. The several broken human bones, such as the femur, tibia or the 
skull, have been found by us scattered through the heaps as were the bones 
of ordinary animals. It might be premature to state that this is evidence of 
cannibalism, yet considering the numbers of these broken human bones re- 
covered in relation to the amount of work done on the shell heaps, the writer 
is of that opinion. 

Numbers of dog bones were found in the various sites. In Dr. G. M. 
Allen's recent paper, "Dogs of the American Aborigines,"* in which he pre- 
sents illustrations and studies of the shell-heap dogs, he makes the state- 
ment that two orthree kinds of dogs lived here at the time the shell heaps 
were accumulated. In answer to a question from the author of this report, 
he wrote under date Dec. 1, 1920: "The dogs were probably of two distinct, 
or more or less distinct, breeds. The major and common Indian dog I be- 
lieve were really one, the same that I called the 'Common Indian Dog.' 
The minor dog is a smaller breed, and I have considered it identical with the 
'short legged Indian Dog', the same as described by Richardson in the 
Fauna Boreali-Americana." 

The extinct sea mink (mustela macrodori) may have been in existence 
when the first voyagers came along the Maine coast. Harbor seals are 
common now and their bones occur in large numbers in the heaps, together 
with those of the grey or Greenland seal, which has not been observed along 
the Maine shores for many years. 

Careful search of the earth, ashes, and shells fails to reveal any consider- 
able number of beads. Since the ashes have a tendency to preserve such 
delicate objects as fish scales or fish ribs, if bone or shell beads were in general 
use it is presumed that the Indians would have lost some of them about the 
heaps and they would be found. Great quantities amounting to several 
quarts of beads or wampum were found by us in a burial ground of the his- 
toric period at Sandy Point on the Penobscot; but we found no beads of con- 
sequence, only two or three, in all our shell-heap work. It seems reasonable 

* Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College, Vol. LXIII, No 9, 
Cambridge, 1920. 



• 








Fig. 105. Specialized objects. A large spearhead of bone with incised lines or decorations. Tt is 
12 1-2 centimeters in length. A smaller object of bone, projectile point. These are the only two bone 
spearheads found in the shell heaps. A decorated bone is shown at the top. The others may be special- 
ized harpoons. From Stover's, Boynton's, Von Mach's and Leech's shell heaps. S. 5-6. 



204 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



to conclude therefore that the art of bead making, together with that of pipe 
manufacture, was almost unknown by the Indians who lived during the 
first few centuries of shell-heap construction. Later they probably had both 
beads and pipes. 

The lack of ornaments in stone, but two being found, brings up the in- 
teresting question whether ornamentation by means of gorgets, etc., so 
common in western New England, was absent or nearly so among the shell- 
heap dwellers. There is the same question with reference to pipes and the 
custom of smoking. The presence of a few bone gouges and a lack of stone 
gouges is also to be observed. It would appear either that bone gouges 
preceded those of stone, or that the natives did not make use of stone gouges 
about the shell-heap villages. The lack of plummets, so common on ordinary 
sites back from the coast, is also significant. These factors indicate to the 
writer that possibly we have Indians of a poorer class, or less advanced, 
living along the coast. Otherwise, we must assume that those who did 
visit the coast for molluscs and fish brought none of their better arts with 
them, which it scarcely seems reasonable to suppose. The broken human 
bones previously referred to suggest cannibalism, perhaps a rite rather than 
a regular custom. This would further strengthen the suggestion that settle- 
ments along the coast present a type of Indians inferior to those of the in- 
terior, that is, those living further back on the Penobseot, the Kennebec and 
the lakes. 

The antiquity of the heaps cannot be exactly stated at present, although 
Loomis and Young offer an interesting comment upon the age of shell- 
heaps.* Observations made at New York City, they say, show the rate of 
subsidence of the Atlantic coast at that point to be about half a meter a 
century, but they think it is nearly a meter per century in Maine, and cite 
the tide mills, which were in common use in early times and cannot be main- 
tained at the present time. Taking these and other factors into considera- 
tion, they conclude that the heaps had been not less than three hundred to 
five hundred years in accumulating before the advent of white men, now near- 
ly three centuries ago. The writer sees no valid reason for supposing that a 
few hundred years span the age of all shell heaps in Maine. Several of our 
larger clam-shell deposits may date back a thousand years, for aught we 
know to the contrary. 



*IjOC cit. p. H. 







Fig. 106. Two bone handles, three broken pipes and an unknown object in the center. S. about 3-5. 




Fig. 107. A thin stone slal>. smooth and slightly hollowed out, almost mortar-shaped but rather too 
small for food grinding. Possibly a stone on which meat was cooked. S. 1-3. 



PART IV. 
INTERIOR VILLAGE SITES AND OTHER REMAINS. 

all S e?HonTS M nteriOT ! illage Sit6S " is a « eneral designation used to cover 
WeshalTvol "/"If" 18 ° f the C ° aSt - line ^t previously described 

more time on long trips into the interior than we did upon he coast R was 
thought adv,sable to explore the unknown regions ofUie state ^oro„!wv 
in order to ascertain the extent of the Red Paint Peoples cultu e thefe a' 
"s and ! W p e oS btr t ^^ filers, the character of ott 
need Z be sTdt „ l^afe * T, * ^ /'^ P^-s which 
Moosehead hv M°rw jfl ,, fact ' aslde from the work done at 
ivioosehead by McGuire and Willoughby, at Damariscotta by Putnam and 

at Chesuncook by Marks who published no paper, there is noth ng7n the 
records to indicate that other observers have paid attention to the a chae- 

SsTmbiLd. " regi ° n ^ ^ - '^ - C — a « d MasI 

loricalortf f °" 0wourfid d notes with certain changes and not in chrono- 
logical order^ Beginning with south-western Maine and working northward 

less of thTvea 7° h F? * ""* ™ V " U ^ or "«*» as a wa ole, regard 

vevs mav hat h it "" ^^^ ° r the faCt that tw0 ° r thr «e ™r- 

ZLrn m!,„ 1™ ^ f CtOT at Vari ° US Ws ' Westo " a "d south- 

work TV T a u u C ° nl ? t rgB partS 0f the state in which we did little 
work. This should be noted here, for in future years, if other observers ex- 

thTlni 6 T17 « b 1 Ween the An d™scoggin and the New Hampshire line, 
w„T P roba °ly And some interesting sites not here noted in that region as 
well as in the Rangeley and Machias regions and others in which we did not 
attempt thorough explorations. 

worl The 7f iter i lad l0 ° k u d , ,T r the Portla nd district before beginning our 
work, a ndjound some shell heaps there, but as they appeared like those 

* In consideringvillage sites or habitations of the Red Paint Peonle I have»lw„vs ih™,„>,t .'„.,. I i. 
the shores of the lake oes.de two at Orlaod village and two at Boeksport, making a total of seven ceme 
we n^t u^'Tw °' th<! °" Uet °J "t 'f e ' M *•— k "« - "<* Sta ofT nSS 

s^ss^x^trpif^pr for through such deww -°* ? < ■** - Esft 



208 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



further up the coast, he accepted the descriptions furnished by Hon. James 
Phinney Baxter, President of the Maine Historical Society. The col- 
lections of the Society contain some material from these sites, and it was not 
thought necessary for us to carry on further explorations there. When we 
conduct researches in the rest of New England, we may ascertain whether 
the Maine Red Paint culture extended into New Hampshire and adja- 
cent region. 

Mr. James C. Sawyer, Treasurer of Phillips Academy, on several oc- 
casions told the writer of this report about Indian sites near Durham and 
Dover, N. H. This is the region drained by the Salmon Falls River and was 
famous in Colonial times because of many attacks by Maine Indians on the 
settlements here. In 1917 we spent two or three weeks in the Salmon Falls 
country and also along the coast and found a number of small shell heaps 
which are shown on our map of York County, Maine. This map, however, 
is not reproduced, since only a few sites were discovered. On Oyster River, 
not far from Mr. Sawyer's residence in Durham, New Hampshire, is a small 
shell heap composed exclusively of oyster shells. This had been so much dis- 
turbed by previous explorers that we were unable to find more than a few 
specimens. They do not differ from the ordinary shell-heap forms. 

On a long point of land lying east of Dover, and between two branches of 
the Salmon Falls, the owner, Mr. Montgomery Rollins of Boston, had found 
several specimens. We ascertained that this ridge was chiefly composed of 
pure sand and we put down many test pits but were unable to find a ceme- 
tery. We did find one grave in the edge of a sand pit and took from it a nar- 
row gouge, two other gouges, and a problematical drilled form similar to 
the wide tubes common inNew York State and Ohio. There was a faint dis- 
coloration of the sand where these objects were found, but no deposit of red 
ocher. The specimens are reproduced in fig. 108. The grave at Rollins's 
place may or may not be of Red Paint culture. It is reasonable to suppose 
that the Red Paint natives went on war or exploring expeditions west of the 
Kennebec, and this may give an explanation of the single burial. 

The survey spent a week in the Ossipee region but found little to indi- 
cate any permanent Indian occupation. 

At The Weirs, the outlet of Lake Winnepesaukee, Governor Winthrop 
reported a considerable Indian population at the time of his visit, two hun- 
dred and fifty years ago. Lake Winnepesaukee was an extensive spawning 
bed for shad, salmon, and other fish, and the Indians built weirs at this place 
and trapped large numbers of fish which they dried for winter use. Ten 
years ago it was possible to trace where these weirs had been located, as 
some of the stones which originally were spaced apart from bank to bank 
still remained in their old places near the shore. One of the largest Indian 
villages in New England was located at The Weirs and extended for more 
than a kilometer above and below the outlet. 




Fig. 108. Gouges and a problematical form from the Rollins site, N. H. S. 1-2 



210 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



I had visited The Weirs years ago and ascertained that many speci- 
mens had been taken from this place by private collectors and agents of 
museums. In 1917 we found a large camp site extending on both sides of the 
outlet and down the stream for some distance, but as the whole place is now 
occupied by summer cottages it was difficult to secure permission for proper 
observations. The Boston & Maine Railroad, however, owns a considerable 
part of the site and the officials kindly permitted explorations. Some two 
hundred scrapers, projectile points, and pottery fragments were secured 
during the test-pit operations on their land. Later we should examine the 
Winnepesaukee region more thoroughly. 

The Saco valley also was scouted by two or three of our men but they 
found little, and we offer no observations other than that there are probably 
small villages on the Saco. More work should be done about the entire 
Saco valley, which is practically unknown. 

The Sebago Region 

In April and May, 1913, Mr. Sugden spent over five weeks about Lake 
Sebago in company with Mr. W. Scott Rolfe of Casco, looking for sites and 
studying the region. It is to be regretted that the large map he drew cannot 
be inserted here in full. Plan XIII, however, presents that part of Sebago 
and adjacent territory in which he found a number of sites. A large col- 
lection of Indian relics was made many years ago by Mr. Rolfe, and another 
by Mr. E. A. Kennard of North Windham, who lives at the outlet on the 
eastern side of the lake. The latter has some six hundred specimens, all of 
which were found about Sebago. With few exceptions these appear to be 
the ordinary Algonkian forms common in New Hampshire and southwest- 
ern Maine. Neither Mr. Rolfe nor Mr. Kennard know of any cemetery, al- 
though one or two graves have been discovered. Most of the specimens 
have been found along sand beaches and about the outlet or on the sites in- 
dicated by the letters B, D, E, H, L of the map. A few are apparently 
Red Paint People types, such as portions of the long slate spears. Mr. 
Marks secured from Mr. Rolfe many years ago the polished slate knife 
shown in Fig. 109. This was drawn for our report by Mr. Willoughby's 
secretary, Miss Gleason, and is reproduced in full size. Few more carefully 
wrought specimens of Indian handiwork have occurred in the New England 
area. This and other unusual objects were found by Mr. Rolfe many years 
ago at Panther Pond on a sand ridge which might have been a cemetery. It 
is probably under water at the present time, since the level of Sebago Lake 
and its tributaries has been considerably raised by a new dam. There are 
many other objects from the Sebago region in the Maine Historical Society 
collection at Portland and numbers have been taken away by visitors and 
collectors. 

Taking into account the camp sites found by Mr. Sugden and the great 




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212 MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 

number of "Indian cellars", or cache pits found in the region, we may infer 
that this was a favorite resort, or rather the site of a large village. From 
Sebago one could travel to the coast in a day and the hunting here in early 
times was excellent. The cache pits vary from one or two meters to at least 
three meters in diameter. In the pits is the usual charcoal and ashes and 
black earth, probably resulting from decayed corn and other foods. 

Letter G shows a peculiar narrow embankment on the east side of the 
outlet, which stands nearly a meter high, on a level sandy stretch, a short 
distance from the lake. Mr. Sugden investigated this and found that it ex- 
tended for about five hundred meters. Along the steep side, where the 
ground slopes down to the bed of the gully, is what appears to be a well- 
worn path, which is still used by trampers. The river bed is rocky here and 
in former times there probably were rapids. The path-like feature may have 
been a carrying place around those rapids. It looks like Indian work, al- 
though nothing else just like it is known in Maine. Mr. Sugden interviewed 
the owner of the property, who stated that old residents always claimed the 
embankment to be of Indian origin. There are fire pits just back of it, and 
the proprietor says that the land has never been ploughed. 

Mr. Kennard said that many years ago before the new dam was built 
several slate spears were found at the edge of the lake. These lay with the 
points in one direction. Mr. Sugden saw one of them in the possession of a 
local collector living at Raymond village and states that it is of the same 
form as the well-known Red Paint type. These, with the interesting knife 
from Panther Pond and some long, narrow gouges and a few hatchet blades, 
would indicate that the Red Paint People may have got as far west as Se- 
bago, but since Mr. Sugden's careful researches during the period of over a 
month resulted in finding no cemetery, we did not deem it advisable to con- 
tinue further work. It is suggested that some other observer in the future re- 
visit the Sebago region and spend more time there. 

The Androscoggin Region 

Next to the Sebago region lies the great Androscoggin valley. When 
the Connecticut River survey was run in 1919, several of us visited the Me- 
gallaway and Diamond waters, which are the upper reaches of the Andros- 
coggin, but did not find any Indian sites. In July, 1920, some of our party 
made the trip down the main river from Berlin Mills in New Hampshire 
as far as Auburn, and found some remains. 

Along the upper Androscoggin are several small village sites, usually 
placed near the mouths of streams tributary to the main river. Not far 
from Betlicl is a rock shelter in which occur ashes, charcoal and other signs 
of Indian occupation. At Mechanic Falls on the Little Androscoggin many 
stone implements have been found, but as the modern village covers the 
Indian site, excavations cannot be satisfactorily carried on. Lake Auburn 



THE KENNEBEC VALLEY 213 

was once inhabited by numbers of Indians, and chips and burnt stones are 
still numerous on the beaches. On Androscoggin Pond, near Wayne, are 
many signs of small villages or camps, and several slender gouges and two 
long pendants have been found there but we could not discover a cemetery. 

All that we were able to ascertain by field operations and study of the 
collections was that the larger communities lay about Auburn and on Merry- 
meeting Bay, at tide-water. The region of the Rangeley Lakes, which feed 
the Androscoggin, has not been explored; there may be Indian sites there, 
but it seems rather too far north for villages of any size. 

Several large collections have been made in the Auburn district, Mr. 
Penny's in the Maine Historical Society's cases at Portland being one of 
the most extensive. The proportion of rough and crude material is unu- 
sually high. There are numbers of very rude celts and axes which are ap- 
parently finished objects but are so poorly manufactured that they seem 
useless as tools. These seem characteristic of the Androscoggin area. 

The Kennebec Valley 

At the main or eastern outlet of Moosehead Lake there is a large dam 
and timber operations have been extensively carried on there for more than 
fifty years; hence there is little Indian "sign" remaining about the outlet. 
For some kilometers down the Kennebec from this point the stream is filled 
with boulders and ledges, making rapids and falls, and the Indians must 
have carried their canoes some distance from the lake before embarking 
again. We find traces of small camps here and there but there is no evidence 
of any large village until the mouth of the Spencer River is reached, where 
there appears to have been an encampment near the junction. Along the 
main stream to the mouth of Sandy River there are a few sites, and careful 
search of the knolls back of such spots might reveal an occasional cemetery. 
At Farmington, some distance up the Sandy, is another encampment. The 
map of Somerset County showing these sites is not reproduced in this re- 
port but is on file, like all other maps compiled by the expeditions. 

The first really large Indian site as one descends the Kennebec is that at 
Norridgewock. Here Father Rasles had his mission, and from this Indian 
town raids against the Massachusetts Bay Colony were organized. The 
village was destroyed by the colonists in 1724 and the heroic priest killed 
while defending his wards. That Norridgewock was the site of a still older 
town and probably inhabited by Algonkins in prehistoric times, seems quite 
evident. The burial grounds have been completely ransacked, and when our 
survey visited the spot in 1920 we found that someone had preceded us and 
that numerous pits had been dug for some distance up and down the river. 

In the Waterville sector, in addition to the Red Paint People cemeteries 
already described,* there are numerous indications of Indian villages. The 

*See p. 95. 



214 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



Sebasticook valley from Moose pond to Waterville was carefully examined 
and a number of camp sites located. Considerable pottery has been taken 
from the river bank a kilometer above Lancaster's farm. Two burials were 
discovered in Winslow upon the ridge back of Lancaster's saw mill, one of 
which was opened by us and the other by Mr. Lancaster. Both skeletons 
were flexed; one had a necklace of small beads about the neck, but the beads 
were few in number and of the ordinary shell-wampum type. No other bur- 
ials could be found along the river by our parties, although we are convinced 
that there are more. A number of wigwams once occupied the low meadow 
flanking the river below Mr. Lancaster's house and many rejects and chips, 
together with knives and one or two stone cutting tools, were secured by us. 

China Pond, some eight kilometers south east from Waterville, has low 
and sandy shores about the outlet. A considerable village was once situated 
here and local collectors have many specimens of the common Algonkian 
types. We dug in various places and found some large ash pits on the east 
side of the outlet on the Cates estate, with the usual bones, chips, etc. 
in the ash pits. We cruised the shores of China Pond but did not dis- 
cover a cemetery. The place should be more carefully examined at some 
future time. 

The entire region lying about Waterville is interesting, and it has been 
suggested that when the State of Maine archaeological survey begins opera- 
tions, it concentrate on this sector lying between Norridgewock and Au- 
gusta. A very large site occurs at Riverside in Vassalboro, near the mouth 
of Webber stream, which drains Webber Pond. About this pond many ob- 
jects have been found and there are several collections in the possession of 
cottage owners. Dr. W. S. Hill of Augusta, who accompanied us on two or 
three trips, has in his large collection many objects from Webber Pond and 
the Riverside site. The Indian village at Riverside lies on the east side of 
the Kennebec, about twelve meters above the water, and must have ex- 
tended for nearly a kilometer north and south. There is a large sand ridge 
at the north end where it is said a cemetery existed in early times and local 
people took many skeletons from it. We camped at Riverside for a week and 
put down hundreds of test pits, finding many fragmentary bones but no 
skeletons and few artifacts. The place seems to have been thoroughly ran- 
sacked by collectors from Waterville. There are large ash pits in the triangle 
between Webber stream, the railroad track, and the high bluff above. A 
force of six or eight men would be able to trench this area for two or three 
hundred meters, and examine the ash pits carefully, and thus the arts of the 
villagers could be reconstructed. Some one has stated that the Jesuits had a 
small mission on a high knoll near the residence of Mr. Sturgis, the present, 
owner of the land. 




PLAN HI 



OUTLINE MAP 

O F 

KENNEBEC COUNTY 
MAINE 

DRAWN BY 
£.OS ucocn 

1919 



MOOSEHEAD LAKE 215 

Moosehead Lake 

In July, 1912, we visited this large and beautiful body of water and by 
means of motor boats examined about fifty places around the shores and ex- 
cavated at twenty-one different points. It would have been impossible to 
thoroughly explore so extensive a shore line in less than one full season, as 
it is stated that the circumference of the lake including all irregularities of 
shore line, is more than five hundred kilometers. The water at that time 
was unusually high. The dam at the outlet has raised the water three meters 
or more, so that all the low lands and favorite camping places of the aborigi- 
nes, either .ancient or modern, are covered, and only those sites lying back 
from the lake or on knolls, are available for study. October and November, 
at low water stage, are the best months to visit Moosehead. 

We do not present a detailed map of the Moosehead region for the reason 
that our observations were not complete. From indications it is clear that 
there are a number of camp sites, rather than village sites, about the lake; 
one is at Spencer's narrows, another at Stevens' sporting camp, and there was 
a large village on the shore across from Mt. Kineo which has been described 
by Mr. McGuire in the passage cited below. Probably implements would be 
found near the mouth of Roach River, and on the shores of Lily Bay and on 
the mainland opposite the lower end of Sugar Island. 

On the western shore of Deer Island, at a point called "the Narrows," 
we found great quantities of the Kineo stone and a number of spear points, 
arrow heads and knives. Many of these were discovered in the edge of the 
lake in twenty centimeters or more of water. 

Where the Mount Kineo hotel is located there was a small prehistoric 
cemetery of the Red Paint People. Most of the graves were destroyed when 
tennis courts were constructed some years ago. The contents of several were 
on exhibition for some years in the lobby of the hotel; a number were carried 
to Boston and a few are in the Peabody Museum. 

Our entire party spent some time inspecting the large talus around the 
base of Mt. Kineo. We dug several deep pits in the accumulated debris and 
found a number of turtlebacks, chips, flakes and spalls, but as McGuire and 
Willoughby had both investigated the Moosehead region in previous years 
and published the results of their studies* and as, our observations led us to 
agree with the conclusions of both, we followed our custom not to carry on 
further researches where good work has already been accomplished, and the 
Survey moved elsewhere. 

A portion of McGuire's excellent paper is here inserted.** 

"Mt. Kineo rises 1700 feet above tide, and 1000 feet above the 

lake. The whole mass appears to be composed of a felsitic rhyolite, 

*C. C. Willoughby, American Naturalist, Mar. 1901, opp. 213-216. 3 pis. J. D. McGuire. Amer- 
ican Anthropologist, n.s. X, 1908, pp. 549-557. 
**Loc. cit. p. 551 ff. 



216 MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 

erratic bowlders of which are widely distributed throughout Maine, 
New Brunswick, and even beyond. The name Kineo signifies ' great 
eagle' in the Abnaki language, probably from some fancied resem- 
blance of the mountain itself, or of some part of it, to the bald 
eagle. On the southern side the mountain is about a mile in 
length, and has a talus from two hundred to three hundred feet in 
width, the slope of which is composed of small fragments intermixed 
with larger masses of the rock that have fallen from above. On the 
precipitous southern side of the mountain are seen numerous bald 
patches of the rhyolite in places where the cliff is too precipitous 
to support vegetation or where the frost has loosened the stone. 

" A visit extending over two months during last spring and sum- 
mer [1908] at the eastern outlet, offered unusual opportunities for 
archaeological investigation of local conditions, owing to an excep- 
tional period of drought. 

"During the latter part of May and in early June the water of 
the lake was at an unusually high stage, no beach being anywhere 
visible; in August and September, however, owing to the lack of 
rain, the depth of water was lowered as much as an inch a day. 
Due to the very gradual shelving of the bed of the lake, a rocky 
beach developed and finally attained an average width of a hun- 
dred feet or more. On the beach and in the immediately adjacent 
water numerous aboriginal implements in various stages of devel- 
opment were found. Of four hundred specimens picked up, all but 
four are of rhyolite; associated with these were numerous fractured 
pieces, as well as bowlders, many of which latter had been purpose- 
ly broken in order to test their suitability for producing spalls for 
subsequent flaking into implements. The rhyolite bowlders are 
generally of small size when compared with the bowlders of pri- 
mary rocks, which occur in infinitely greater numbers, the former 
weighing tens and the latter hundreds of pounds. 

"The color of the rhyolite in the bed-rock is dark green, but 
along the shores of the lake and in the Kennebec river it has 
weathered until it is almost white. In a number of cases imple- 
ments taken from the water were light yellow on their upper surface 
whereas the under-side was light gray or green, as though they had 
lain unmoved for centuries. The number of rhyolite bowlders 
lying along the beach would indicate that erratic blocks have been 
more extensively employed for implement-making than has been 
supposed. 

' The specimen-yielding area is limited to a few hundred yards 
along the lake shore, beginning a hundred yards from the dam 
on both sides of the outlet; and to less than fifty yards of the 




Fig. 110. The Felsite Cliff, at Mount Kineo, Moosehead Lake. 



218 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



beach at Squaw point, a mile from the outlet. The uniformity in 
material and workmanship being similar, the collection is treated 
as homogeneous. 

"On the beach southeast of the Outlet Hotel, and two hundred 
yards from the point where most of the implements were found on 
that side of the lake, and away from other pieces of the rhyolite, a 
cache of twenty-nine pieces was unearthed, the specimens ranging 
in color from almost white to a dark gray. The lighter color being 
uppermost, it appears likely that the weathering is due to light 
rather than to chemical action of the water. 

"Practically all these specimens exhibit more or less artificial 
work. The largest one in the cache measures about seven inches 
in extreme length. The cache was situated within a natural circle 
of bowlders, and could have been found readily by the owner, who 
had piled the implements so neatly one upon another." 
McGuire describes his artifacts and rejects in detail. They are of the 
usual quarry forms, ranging from turtle-backs to completed blades and fin- 
ished spear and arrow points. He found quartz broken in angular frag- 
ments upon the beaches, but it was of a texture not suited to the manu- 
facture of implements. 

Having described the quarry and shop-site material, he turns his at- 
tention to the use of fetishes among the Maine Indians, and illustrates a 
natural concretion which has been artificially worked at the top. We found 
several similar stones at various places in Maine, larger than the one fig- 
ured by Mr. McGuire. From their appearance, or the circumstances un- 
der which they were discovered, we conclude that such stones were of value 
to the Indians. Two or three in our museum are sufficiently large to be 
considered idols or manitous. One in particular is 47 cm. in height, 35 cm. 
wide at the base and 15 cm. by 18 cm. at the top, and weighs about sixty 
pounds. It was found on the Passadumkeag village site at the mouth of 
Passadumkeag stream. McGuire says of these stones:* 

"Such fetishes were sometimes painted to strengthen some 
fancied resemblance to the owner's tutelary, or were otherwise 
marked by adding a month, an eye, or other feature. Schoolcraft 
describes certain 'image stones' which ' the native tribes who occu- 
py the borders of the great lakes are very ingenious in converting 
to the uses of superstition, such masses of loose rock or bowlder 
stones as have been fretted by the action of water into shapes re- 
sembling trunks of human bodies, or other organic forms. There 
appears to have been at all times a ready disposition to turn such 
masses of rude natural sculpture, so to call them, to an idolatrous 
use.' Of these figures Schoolcraft illustrates five specimens. 1 
*Loe. cit. p. 556. "1. The Indian in his Wigwam, p. "290, 18+8 " 



THE PENOBSCOT WATERS 219 

" Lalemant, referring to Dreuillette's conversion of the Abnaki 
on the Kennebec, in the Jesuit Relation of 1647, says that one of the 
evidences that the Father obtained was that the Indians 'should 
throw away their manitou, or demons, or fantastic charms. There 
are few young men among the savages,' he says, 'who have not 
some stone, or other thing which they keep as a dependence upon 
the Demon, in order to be happy in the hunt, or in play, or in 
war. . . . Those who had some of these charms, or manitous, 
drew them from their pouches; some cast them away, others brought 
them to the Father. 2 

The Penobscot Waters 

Omitting the mouth of the Penobscot, about which are small shell heaps 
and occasional village sites, and ascending the river to within eight kilo- 
meters of Bucksport, there is an Indian site of some size on the west bank of 
the river at a place known as Sandy Point. In August, 1914, the survey 
went down there from Bucksport and spent about a week in excavating along 
a sloping sand ridge. Eleven skeletons were discovered within a space ten 
meters in extent, but all were very much broken and decayed. They lay 
not more than thirty-five or forty centimeters below the surface. These 
were exceedingly interesting burials in that they seemed to mark contact 
between Indians of the stone age and Europeans. There were great quan- 
tities of ordinary shell wampum strewn over four of the bodies. The exact 
number of pieces has not been determined, but as there were several quarts 
and the beads are small, it may be assumed that there were originally be- 
tween 20,000 and 25,000 of these beads. From the position of some of them 
we conclude that they were strung on thongs and worn as necklaces and that 
others were used in fringing deerskin jackets or were woven on belts. A 
few large shell beads were found with the smallest skeleton, that of a child. 
With one skeleton were two rude flint knives and a large, rough, iron axe 
weighing at least seven pounds. It seems too heavy to have seen service as a 
tomahawk and was probably a camp axe. Large iron kettles were placed 
over the heads of two of the burials and these have decayed except the han- 
dles and portions of the thicker upper parts. There were many cylinders of 
brass but no native copper. Two of the bodies had been wrapped in beaver 
and moose hides and there were traces of bear skin. Where the hair came 
in contact with the brass enough of it was preserved to permit identifica- 
tion. It is to be regretted that there are no photographs of these interest- 
ing burials. Our field camera was in Bucksport being repaired at the time. 
There was a summer school near Sandy Point and many persons gathered to 
witness the survey at work, including a teacher who claimed to be an ex- 

"2. Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, vol. XXXI, pp. 183-195." 



220 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



pert with the camera and took numerous photographs for us, but either 
his camera was defective or he was not familiar with photography, for we 
were unable to secure any pictures from him. This is mentioned as one of 
the few instances in which it was impossible to secure good photographs of 
our explorations. 

As one ascends the river further Verona island, several kilometers in 
length, is passed. On the east side of this island the channel is narrow and 
the stream which drains Alamoosook Lake enters opposite the head of the 
island. As has been stated on page 21, the village of Orland is located at 
the head of tide water on this stream, called the Orland or Narramissic 
river, and the spot was a favorite resort of the Indians, who had a consider- 
able village there at one time. Passing on up the river toward Bangor, one 
finds few sites until Bangor itself is reached. From all accounts, Bangor was 
probably the Norumbega of the early voyagers. The city, covering as it 
does a considerable space, has obliterated all Indian traces except above the 
first dam on the Penobscot, where exists the famous Bangor Pool. This is 
head of tide water and has been a famous fishing-place for salmon from ear- 
liest times. When planting gardens in Bangor itself, many objects have been 
picked up by land-owners. From the pool up to the Penobscot Indian vil- 
lage at Oldtown, there are a number of sites, one of which belonging partly 
to the Red Paint culture has been described by Mr. Smith on pages 137 to 
146 above. 

The Indian Island at Oldtown, on which is the village of the modern 
Penobscots, is a large tract of land. Numerous stone implements have been 
found there, among them Red Paint People types, and many of the In- 
dians have specimens which they have found in their gardens and fields, but 
for some reason they will permit no explorations, although repeated at- 
tempts have been made on the part of explorers to secure permission. The 
writer of this report interviewed the leading men of the tribe and explained 
the nature of our work, but was unable to move them from their former 
decision. These Penobscots are very tenacious of their tribal rights and 
permit no white men to remain on Indian Island over night. 

Further up the river there are other sites, one of some size being located 
on the west bank at the mouth of a stream about two kilometers below Passa- 
dumkeag. Much pottery occurs here. 

O lam on Stream 

Some interesting information about the meaning of Indian place-names 
is contained in a letter written to the Rev. J. Morse on Nov. 28, 1823, by 
Mr. Moses Greenleaf, who was familiar with the Penobscot Indians. This 
letter, with the title "Indian Place Names of the Penobscot and St. John 
Rivers," originally appeared in the first "Report of the American Society 
for Promoting Civilization and General Improvement of the Indian Tribes 



OLAMON STREAM 221 

of the United States" (New Haven, 1824), and has been re-printed by Mr. 
Edgar Crosby Smith in his "Moses Greenleaf, Maine's First Map-Maker" 
(Bangor, 1902, pp. 120-125). 

In our journey up the Penobscot we paid particular attention to islands, 
mouths of streams, and other features mentioned by Mr. Greenleaf. For 
instance: Bos-que-noo-sik Island, "Burying ground for Mohawks"; Ta-la- 
la-go-dis-sik (Webster's Island), "Painting place for squaws"; Bos-que-nu- 
guk (Broken Island), "Burying Ground"; and lastly Olam' man (Olamon) 
stream, "Place where paint is found." However, although we carried a crew 
of ten men, we were unable to find any traces of burials, either Algonkian or 
Mohawk, on the islands ; but we were especially interested in Olamon Stream 
because we hoped to find there the source of the red paint or powdered hem- 
atite. A thorough search of the region was made, especially near a point 
some distance back from the main river, where falls occur. There is a ledge 
here in which are numerous depressions. The older residents of Olamon 
claim that in the early days a good deal of red paint was dug up along the 
ledge and taken away. Indeed we were told that a house and a boat had 
been painted with it. The Indians also may have carried off great quanti- 
ties of it in historic times. 

We carried on excavations here for several days and in places found 
areas two to four meters in diameter where the soil was quite red. Mr. 
Ralph Lord, one of my men who is experienced in timber work and wood- 
craft, is of the opinion that discoloration of the soil results from the burn- 
ing of very heavy white pine. In this particular place the virgin forest was 
composed of large white pine and the roots in burning would discolor the 
earth. Other tree roots do not have this peculiarity to the same extent as 
those of white pine, Mr. Lord contends. At first Mr. Smith and I were also 
of this opinion, but after considering the matter and finding that the red 
earth does not extend in narrow strips or downwards but is continuous, we 
thought it might be due to the presence of soft hematite. However, we 
found no earth that was bright enough to compare with the Katahdin paint 
or ocher. 

This illustrates how frequently popular traditions either are not re- 
liable or relate to what has long since disappeared. 

Passadumkeag 

Passadumkeag was a large Indian site in the historic period and is fre- 
quently mentioned by Francis Parkman and other writers. The colonial 
records also refer to expeditions from both Passadumkeag and Mattawam- 
keag organized by Indians and French against the white settlements of the 
Massachusetts Bay Colony. Several of the citizens of this modern village 
have specimens found on the flat where the town is now located. Two or 
three of our expeditions stopped at Passadumkeag at various times when as- 



222 MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 

cending or descending the river. In addition to the Red Paint cemeteries 
already described,* we found indications of a large Indian village site at the 
mouth of Passadumkeag stream. During the work of the first expedition, in 
1912, a large fire pit about 1.3 m. in diameter was discovered on the land of 
Mr. Leonard on top of a large bare knoll which commands a good view of the 
river. It contained charcoal and ashes, one layer of charcoal being over 5 
cm. in thickness, and in the bottom of the pit the charcoal was 11 cm. thick. 
The base of the excavation of the fire pit was somewhat less than a meter 
below the surface of the knoll, and nearly a meter below the ash pit were 
fragments of a human skull. We have never in any other of our explora- 
tions found a burial so far below the surface. No other large fragments of 
bones were found but there were traces of decayed fragments. The only 
objects accompanying the burial were a small arrow point and a little ocher 
rather dull brown in color. Twenty -one pits were sunk in this knoll but no 
more burials or objects were discovered. Ashes and charcoal occurred fre- 
quently 20 to 40 cm. below the surface, as if the knoll had been greatly dis- 
turbed at some time. 

The Piscataquis 

At Howland, eight kilometers above Passadumkeag, the Piscataquis 
river comes into the Penobscot from the west and there is a large Indian site 
at the junction of these streams. Many-objects are picked up there each 
year but our party was unable to discover a burial ground. 

The Piscataquis river played an important part in the annals of Indian 
history in Maine. On the north branch. Pleasant river, is located Katahdin 
Iron Works, the source of the i ed paint. The south or larger branch drains 
Lake Sebec, the shores of which were thickly inhabited by Indians. In 
1915 our expedition moved to the mouth of the Piscataquis and worked up- 
stream. As the men proceeded with the canoes up the south branch, Mr. 
Smith and the writer decided to visit certain hematite outcroppings near 
Katahdin Iron Works, as neither of us had ever been at that place. 

Mr. Smith informed me that a French engineer a century ago reported 
that in Williamsburg township, which is the Katahdin of today, occurred 
soft powdered hematite of such fine character that it was used for paint 
without preparation, and that it is one of the few places in the world where 
such fine paint occurs. Several buildings at Katahdin Iron Works were 
painted witli this red ocher thirty-two years ago and have not been repainted, 
and notwithstanding the severity of winters in northern Maine much of the 
original color remains. 

We found the outcrop of powdered hematite on the surface along the 
foot of a high elevation or long ridge about a kilometer from the small 
settlement of Katahdin Iron Works. (See Fig. 29). Early white travelers 

*Hatha\vay\s, pp. 48-56; sand pit, p. 88. 



LAKE SEBEC REGION 223 

in the region apparently found the Indian diggings and some observed the 
numerous iron nodules and boulders; hence Katahdin Iron Works sprung 
into existence and flourished until the Pittsburg and other western fields 
were developed. There are a dozen or more large furnaces still standing 
in the little valley along Pleasant river. 

Returning to our party with all that we could carry of both yellow and 
red ocher, we found that they had made several discoveries. At the mouth 
of Sebois stream, under a deposit of edgings and slabs from a saw mill, is a 
village site over one hundred by two hundred meters in extent. Here we 
recovered from a short distance below the grass roots two hundred chipped 
objects and some broken pottery. None of it occurred deeper than thirty- 
five centimeters from the surface. An unusual feature of this village was 
the fact that scrapers predominated. Fully half of all material found con- 
sisted of oval and flake-scrapers, but none of the notched or hafted chipped 
scrapers were observed. 

Two or three years later three of us visited Katahdin Iron Works again 
and looked very carefully for Red Paint cemeteries in the vicinity, but the 
white people's operations have been extensive and all traces of Indian exca- 
vations have been obliterated. Mr. Smith and I had seen a collection in a 
drug store at Milo which came from the shores of Ebemee lake, a few kilo- 
meters from Katahdin Iron Works. The collection contained the Red Paint 
People type, but the owner of the site did not wish to have us carry on ex- 
cavations and so the cemetery is still unexplored. 

Lake Sebec Region 

In 1917 we visited the Sebec region, also drained by the Penobscot. 
The water was so high that we were unable to examine the sites which had 
been described to us by Mr. S. J. Guernsey of the Peabody Museum, but 
judging from the amount of archaeological material in the hands of local 
collectors, Sebec was one of the great Indian centers in the State of Maine. 

After a careful inspection of the Sebec country, we came to the conclu- 
sion that the great quantities of powdered hematite brought from Katahdin 
Iron Works by the Indians, and also much of the felsite from Mt. Kineo, 
were taken to the Penobscot through the Piscataquis region rather than 
down the Kennebec. As has been stated, there is very bad water for some 
distance below Moosehead in the Kennebec. We are of the opinion that the 
Indians loaded their canoes at Kineo with felsite, paddled to the south end 
of Moosehead, and then carried to Wilson Pond, a distance of about five kilo- 
meters. From thence through Trout Pond and Long Pond to Sebec Lake 
there are short portages and at certain seasons of the year very little carry- 
ing need be done. From Sebec Lake down Pleasant River and the Piscat- 
aquis to the Penobscot was an easy journey. The powdered hematite 
would have to be carried on the backs of the Indians down the trail along 



224 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



Pleasant river to near the Piscataquis before it was possible to navigate in 
canoes. We do not think the Kineo felsite was transported down the West 
Branch of the Penobscot, as that would necessitate a long transportation at 
North East Carry and also portages around the many falls of the West 
Branch. 

The Mattawamkeag River 

In the latter half of July, 1915, we went from Castine to Island Falls, at 
the head of Mattawamkeag West Branch Lake, where Mr. "Bill" Sewall has 
a large camp. Mr. Sewall will be remembered as President Roosevelt's 
guide for many years in the Rocky Mountains and also in Maine. After 
examining the shores of the lake, we proceeded by canoe down the Matta- 
wamkeag River to its mouth. All along we found traces of Indian camp 
sites, with a few stone hatchets and celts but nothing indicating permanent 
occupation. Some distance above Kingman, at the junction of two branches 
of the river, was a rather extensive village site, but it was difficult for us to 
work there because a heavy growth of spruce and saplings covered the 
ground and our time was limited. While descending the last ten miles of the 
Mattawamkeag below Kingman we had great trouble to negotiate the gorge 
where occur the famous Gordon Falls, the Heath and Ledge Falls. River 
drivers are frequently drowned at this place and we found it necessary to 
lower our canoes with ropes. The outfit got through safely, however, and 
set up camp at Mattawamkeag, the famous Indian town at the junction of 
this river with the Penobscot. We had already visited and explored this 
place in 1912, and we stopped there again in 19 IS, but no trace of Red Paint 
cemeteries or of other prehistoric burials were found by any of the expedi- 
tions. Only a number of graves of later Indians were discovered. 

Mattawamkeag is a delightful situation for an Indian town. The Pen- 
obscot flows southward with the Mattawamkeag entering from the south 
east. The water in both is pure and clear. South of the tributary stream 
and flanking the main river is a level bottom of rich soil and here the large 
Indian village was located, nearly half a kilometer in length. It was an ideal 
spot, as Mattawamkeag stream protects the east and north and the Penob- 
scot the west approaches. The modern village is on the slightly higher land 
a little further to the east. North of the junction and on the right bank of 
the Mattawamkeag is a high ridge or terrace which slopes down to a nar- 
row bottom of rich land bordering upon both streams. Here a smaller vil- 
lage was located. All burials seem to have been confined to the high ridge 
above this site. 

Our survey of 191 L 2 spent ten days in work at Mattawamkeag. We dug 
many holes on the flats near the river, both above and below where the Mat- 
tawamkeag enters the Penobscot, and also sunk numerous pits upon the 
ridge. The land where the larger historic village was situated and where 



THE MATTAWAMKEAG RIVER 225 

there was probably occupation in more ancient times as well, is now a farm 
owned by Mr. George Budge. Debris covers the flat for a distance of two 
hundred by three hundred meters. During the course of our work here we 
found ash pits but they contained little of consequence. We were able to 
secure over a hundred stone and chipped specimens, finished and unfinished, 
of the various kinds. They were all very much like the ordinary early Al- 
gonkian types. 

On the low meadow immediately bordering the water on the north or 
right bank of the stream at its mouth, numerous deep test pits were sunk. 
These revealed two and in some cases three layers of burnt earth, fire-cracked 
pebbles and charcoal. Between these layers were bands of clear sand, seem- 
ingly river-silt. Charcoal was found at one spot one and a half meters below 
the surface. About one hundred meters from the Penobscot the land rises 
abruptly, reaching a height of twenty or thirty meters. Here also we dug 
extensively. There is a tradition among the local people that one of the 
Jesuit priests, after laboring for many years among the Indians, died and was 
buried on a high sandy knoll on the north east side of Mattawamkeag 
stream, and that the chapel bell was buried with him, the mission having 
been burned by the English from Massachusetts Bay, some time before. 
Whether this tradition is true, I am not prepared to say, but there are graves 
on the ridge, on land now owned by Mr. John McCain. They are all of early 
historic Indians. 

Further work at Mattawamkeag did not shed additional light upon the 
question of occupancy. The village site, while extensive, covers the surface 
merely and below the plow-line no artifacts have been discovered. Those 
found, as staled above, are in no sense of the types taken from the red 
paint deposits. In its technique the Mattawamkeag site does not differ 
from those found elsewhere along the Penobscot, so far as a careful investi- 
gation on our part indicates. 

Some extracts from the field notes follow : 

"One pit yielded a fine grooved hammer of granite and parts 
of a flint lock gun. 

"On the nearby bluff numerous pits and a short trench re- 
vealed graves. From the first of these were taken pyrites (?), a 
hammer stone and an iron grape shot. The place had been plowed. 
Further work revealed several batches of "color" but scarcely 
enough to class them as Red Paint People's graves. Two arrow 
points of polished slate were found, one connected with ocher and 
one apparently a stray. Positions : Point with rounded stem : E. 10° 
N., 50 cm. down, ocher 68 cm. down. Other point, N. 20° E., 50 
cm. down. It is to be noted that both these points are of different 
type from any found at Orland. No large objects or unquestioned 
pyrites came to light. In one pit a handful of bone fragments 



220 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



scattered over a considerable area in brown and reddish earth was 
found. These probably represent camp-site refuse and burnt 
earth. We found four interments. In two of these were fragments 
of human bones. There was a rusty flint lock in the edge of one of 
these graves but we did not think that the gun had been buried, 
else more of the barrel would have remained. Fragments of clay 
pipes of the early forms and one or two bullets were found during 
our explorations, also a piece of rusty sword blade. In one grave 
where the skeleton had almost entirely disappeared, there was a 
slate spear head of a different type from any found in the graves 
of the Red Paint People, and a natural formation, or water-worn 
stone, shaped somewhat like an animal. At another place in the 
lower grounds we dug up a large grooved stone maul or hammer. 
No grooved tools have been found in the Red Paint People graves." 
Believing that no Red Paint People were buried on the right bank of 
Mattawamkeag stream, and not wishing to disturb the graves of the mis- 
sion Indians, we examined other lands along the river. 

In 1915 and again in 1918, when we were coming down the Penobscot, 
we stopped at Mattawamkeag and did more work; it was impossible, how- 
ever, to find any Red Paint People's cemetery. On the west bank of the 
Penobscot opposite the mouth of the Mattawamkeag River is a level bench 
or terrace about two hundred meters in length. Here we found two large 
wigwam sites. These were carefully hand-trowelled out and we were re- 
warded by finding several hundred chips, small scrapers, arrow heads 
and broken objects, largely of jasper. We found no pottery and no large 
broken stone tools. There was considerable burnt earth but no fire stones. 
These two sites were apparently where large cabins had been placed, and 
appeared to be about eight or nine meters in diameter. 

In 1918 we camped at the lower end of the large flat where the Matta- 
wamkeag Indian town was located, and here we found another wigwam site 
on which were large numbers of pieces of chipped felsite and Kineo stone. It 
is interesting to note that on the west side, across the Penobscot, jasper pre- 
dominated, whereas on the east side there was no jasper, or very little. Thus 
the natives living on one side of the river used jasper almost exclusively 
while t lie finds on the other bank indicate the use of another material. On 
the islands near Mattawamkeag or above or below, we were able to find very 
little evidences of occupation. We are told that ice and logs, in seasons when 
the river is unusually high, have damaged or reduced the surface soil. This 
may account for the scarcity of Indian "signs" on the low-lands. 

Continuing up the Penobscot in 1915 we come to Medway where the 
East Branch and West Branch of the Penobscot join. Here was a large 
Indian site and we secured thirty or forty knives and spear and arrow points, 



THE MATTAWAMKEAG RIVER 227 

and some rude plummets and broken axes. There is also much pottery here 
and a number of ash pits. The place should be thoroughly examined. 

Proceeding up the West Branch we soon came to Shad Pond near the 
present "pulp town" of Millinocket. Here the Great Northern Paper 
Company has built an immense dam and turned practically all the water of 
the West Branch into power to run a pulp mill. The West Branch bed 
therefore is nearly dry for some kilometers and affords splendid opportunity 
for searching. Yet, although the entire party walked up the bed of the river, 
we found little or nothing. 

This is -not surprising if one is familiar with the history of the West 
Branch falls. Formerly a large body of water poured through this little 
gorge. Millions of feet of timber from the upper lakes were run through the 
falls each spring. Often jams occurred at this place, and the West Branch 
falls were considered the most dangerous place between Bangor and Chesun- 
cook. The jams backed up the water for some distance, and when the jam 
finally broke, the force of the combination — tens of thousands of logs and 
perhaps a crest of four to six meters of water — swept everything before it. 
Sand, gravel, stones — the whole mass — went into the deeper waters be- 
yond. All Indian implements left along the shores of the West Branch falls 
except those dropped on higher land have long since been washed away. 
In fact the mill and forest owners in Maine have "changed the face of the 
earth". What Kipling said of the elephant Hathi is true of the Maine 
"timber king" — 

"And where Hathi gleans there is no need to follow." 

We established camp on the edge of Shad Pond where Millinocket 
stream enters, and spent several days in digging and searching up and 
down the West Branch. We found numerous indications of temporary camps 
such as great quantities of chips and spalls of Kineo stone, ashes of camp fires, 
hammer stones and a few broken celts ; also some pits or caches in which pro- 
perty had been stored ; but nothing indicating the presence of a great camp 
site or burial place could be discovered. Fig. Ill presents a large ash pit 
found on the banks of Shad Pond in which the lavers of charcoal and ashes 
are unusually clear. It was more than one and one half meters in width and 
a meter deep but contained no objects and its purpose must remain a mys- 
tery. 

Up the West Branch between Millinockett and Chesuncook Lake are 
some encampments of Indian hunters and fishermen, and upon the sandy 
shores of Chesuncook Lake are evidences of the largest interior village north 
of Bangor. Mr. Marks was fortunate in being able to examine the territory 
before the great dams were built, and he has given me some particulars con- 
cerning the extent of this site. There was also a large burial ground near the 
southern end of the lake and from it Mr. Marks secured many of the polished 



228 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



implements and ornaments now in the Andover collection. These are all 
Algonkian forms; there do not appear to be any Red Paint People types. A 
large bone fish hook, curved and barbed, was found by him on the beach. 
This is the only hook of that pattern from northern Maine known to me. 

Pittston 

From Chesuncook we proceeded on up the West Branch to Pittston 
Farm, a supply depot of the Northern Paper Company, which is well over 
toward the western Canadian border of the state. Here the river forks again 
and each branch is quite small. Remains of aboriginal occupation occur on 
both sides of the main stream and on the point between the north and the 
south branches. It was an encampment of some duration, for pottery is 
found, and we never obtain that on temporary hunting sites. There is, 
however, little evidence of any extended camp site proper; the place seems 
to have been rather a group of small shop sites for roughing out discs and 
" turtlebacks " from the " quarried " Kineo stone. It is but fair to state that 
the site showing most evidence of camp occupation could be but slightly ex- 
plored when we were there in 1914 because it was covered by a heavy crop 
of hay, and that commodity is very valuable, since Pittston is far from rail- 
way connections and farms. Plan XVI shows the Pittston sites. 

Site 1. This was on the right bank of the main stream, the West Branch 
of the Penobscot, at the Forks, and occupies the highest land in the imme- 
diate vicinity. Here were found some triangular and leaf -shaped blanks in- 
cluding one which was thirty-five by thirteen centimeters, very evenly chip- 
ped. The left object in fig. 112. Thirteen of these blanks, whole or frag- 
mentary, were found at this site, all of them where the river bank, two me- 
ters high, had washed away leaving the gravel. One jasper perforator, two 
broken knives, and a broken arrow head were found, and also a few irregular 
Kineo blocks and numerous large chips. Immediately below the sod at one 
place was a layer of ash containing a few crumbs of bone and a little nest of 
pottery fragments. The large chipped implements are shown in figs. 112* 
and 113. 

Site 2. This was near the westerly shore of the point between the 
Forks, next the so-called South branch. The finds consisted of a double 
handful of coarse Kineo chips occurring in a space about ten meters across 
among a dozen or so of boulders weighing from twenty to fifty pounds 
each. One quartz scraper was found but no other evidence of finished ob- 
jects nor of rejects. 

Site 3. This was on the left bank of the North branch not far from the 
junction. It was marked by a deposit of coarse Kineo chips in a little pocket 

*Note: The long leaf-shaped blade to left in Fig. 112 is the largest recorded from New England. 
On examination I conclude that it may be a finished object and not a blank as is stated in the text. 



PITTSTON 229 

not more than three meters across immediately below the sod. There was no 
sign of any finished objects or of rejects. 

Site Jf,. This was on a flat-topped sand ridge about one hundred meters 
east of the bank of the West Branch proper and nearly parallel with it. 
The objects occurred immediately in the grass roots. It yielded six trian- 
gular Kineo scrapers, one chipped knife thirteen centimeters long, a broken 
celt, a small, square-end, broken chipped knife, and about two double hand- 
fuls of coarse Kineo chips. These objects were found in an area less than 
fifteen meters across. This whole sand ridge as well as the gravelly hill 
slope behind it was covered by an ash layer immediately below the sod. It 
was probabiy caused by a forest fire burning the wood mold, but this does 
not preclude the possibility that in some spots it may have been added to by 
camp fires. This ash layer has given a dark color to one side of most of the 
objects from sites 4 and 5. 

Site 5. This was farther south, and near the river bank. The chips here 
were noticeably smaller than at the other sites. About sixty chipped ob- 
jects were found, mostly broken square-end knives. There were two notched 
arrow points, whole. Two deposits of pottery fragments occurred imme- 
diately among the grass roots. They more than filled a large cigar box, mostly 
in small pieces. It is the heavy, coarsely tempered, punch-decorated, ar- 
chaic Algonkian ware, similar to that found in the shell heaps at French- 
man's Bay. 

A small deposit of Kineo f elsite chips was found about half way between 
sites 5 and 6, in the tote road which follows the ridge mentioned above. 

The site as a whole is noticeable for the proportionately large number of 
broken small chipped objects and for the total absence of small rejects. The 
chips are markedly coarse. Local slate was used for chipping to a very 
slight extent. 

In June, 1914, an expedition composed of eleven men with equipment of 
six large canoes, four tents and complete camp-outfit, left Pittston Farm and 
ascended the small North Branch of the West Branch of the Penobscot. 
This was an exceedingly hard trip. Within five kilometers we reached the 
limit of paddling and were compelled to use poles. Soon afterwards all had 
to wade and drag the canoes. We proceeded slowly and carefully, since our 
canoes might be damaged on the sharp rocks and rendered useless. It is well 
to quote a few paragraphs from the field diary. 

"'Thursday the 25th. Continued dragging the canoes up 
stream all day. The men became tired. Some fire wardens had 
preceded us and they raised gates of the Bog dam. But for this we 
could not have got up, there being very little water. Camped in 
old lumber shack. Friday, 26th, proceeded on up the stream 
through dead water for about 6 kilometers. The North Branch here 
was originally very small, but as it passes through low land the dam 



230 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



has changed several miles of land into a bog or muddy lake. At 
the head' of this bog the stream passes through flat country with 
clay banks and high grass. Very crooked stream. Two kilometers 
of paddling equalled three hundred meters in a straight distance. 
Four or five kilometers farther, having dragged the canoes up to a 
clearing, found a cabin occupied by two Frenchmen.* Here the 
stream is not more than two meters wide. Later they informed us 
a new trail had been cut over the hills to St. John Pond. The dis- 
tance is eight kilometers and the trail very rough. We found the 
Frenchmen absent the afternoon we arrived. Spent several hours 
hunting for them. Walked to St. John Pond and back. Searched 
shores, found nothing. The Frenchmen were found in the evening, 
and began making sleds to haul our canoes over the carry [to St. 
John Pond]. Saturday a. m. at 8.00, two sleds being completed, 
two canoes and baggage were hauled over. Our men had to help 
clear trail, cut trees, etc. Required labor of six men four hours to 
take two canoes eight kilometers. Following our custom, the cook's 
outfit went first and camp was established. Two more canoes were 
brought over late Saturday afternoon and the last two, Sunday 
morning. The canoe bottoms were found to be badly scraped. 

"St. John's Pond was examined but no traces of Indian occu- 
pation found. Monday the 29th, started down St. John river [here 
called the Woboostook or Baker stream]. Small stream, heavily 
wooded. Water was cold and alive with t rout . Great game country. 
Many deer seen. Our cook, James Rideout, without leaving his 
fireplace, counted nineteen in three hours. The stream was very 
small, full of rocks and rapids. It was necessary to drag canoes 
nearly all the way to Baker Lake, thirty kilometers distant. Rained 
hard Tuesday the 30th and we remained in camp all day. 

"Wednesday, July 1st, proceeded on down river, wading usually 
but poling canoes nowand then.* There were nosigns of Indian en- 
campments until we reached Baker Lake. No flint chips on the 
shores. Great quantities of duck, deer, trout, etc. We came to 
dead water several kilometers above Baker Lake and were able to 
paddle. All the men were glad of this because they had become 
chilled and tired wading in water. The elevation must be consid- 
erable as the nights are quite cold with frost. Spent half day at 
Baker's examining shores. Found a cam]) site at the outlet; stone 
celt, scraper, chips, etc. That evening reached Morrison's Depot 
Camp. Found no specimens. 



*Fig. 114 illustrates how the canoes were lifted over rocks and shallows, logs and heaver dams 
*Fig. 115 shows a heaver dam near the St. John. 



PITTSTON 231 

"July 2nd. Ran down rapidly through swift water to a 
lumber camp where the Southwest branch and South branch or 
main St. John come together. Found a site, and as the river was 
much larger our troubles were over. Here were numbers of chips 
and spalls lying together as if there had been wigwam sites. [The 
material is a light, chalky rhyolite and different from stone on sites 
down river. It is almost white in color and much weathered.] 

"From here to Seven Islands [July 4th] are several small sites**. 
Numbers of specimens have been discovered at Seven Islands and 
there is a village site here, but as it was planted in oats and timothy 
and this is the farthest up-river settlement with grain and hay high 
in price, the owner did not wish us to excavate. He had found a 
grooved axe, an iron tomahawk and some arrow heads. 

*' The afternoon of July 4th we ran through some bad rapids to 
the Big Black [or Great Black] River, and camped there until 
the morning of the 9th. This stream was mentioned as being rich in 
Indian signs. We examined all points of land and shores thorough- 
ly, did much digging and sent an expedition up the Big Black 30 
kilometers. Found two camp sites, only one important. It fur- 
nished a large stone ornament***, some knives, arrow heads, etc. 
This tablet is 18 cm. long, 6 cm. wide in the center. The top is 
decorated by notches. Material, granite; color, dark." 
At the junction of the North West branch and the main St. John 
river there is indication of Algonkian culture in the form of flint chips, arrow 
heads and broken stone hatchets. No pottery was discovered in any of these 
sites, and the conclusion is that the camps are those of hunters and were not 
occupied as permanent villages. 

Where Shield's brook, or the Metawakwansis stream, empties into the 
Great Black river was a reputed Indian burying ground. There is a field 
and sand ridge at this point, with a slight sand knoll on the edge of Shield's 
brook. The most curious feature is a group of little mounds, about two 
to two and a half meters long and a meter wide, scattered over the upper 
field. They exactly resemble the mounds with which modern graves are 
sometimes marked, but careful digging to a depth of two meters failed to 
reveal the slightest trace of any burials whatsoever, or any disturbance of 
the soil. Some at least of these mounds are palpably artificial and probably 
all are so. About one dozen were dug into without result in any case. A 
small ash layer, with one broken arrow head, was located on the slope of the 
sand ridge. The knoll in front of the forestry and fire wardens' cabins 



**Sites are shown on our map of Somerset County in the Department files, but the map is not 
reproduced here. See plan XVIII, Aroostook County. 

***This is shown below in Fig. 116. It is not of Red Paint People type, but smaller and made 
of a dark granite, well polished. 




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PITTSTON 233 

was tested without result. A total of about one hundred and twenty-five 
test pits were dug. 

From the Big Black to St. Francis on the Canada line, some seventy 
kilometers, the country was examined but little was found. Although the 
forests are very heavy and the timber line extends to the water, we dug hun- 
dreds of pits on points of land at the junction of streams and on all favorable 
sites throughout this journey. This heavy growth makes work difficult and 
also prevents extensive excavations. When the country is cleared, sites 
may be found, yet I doubt if large sites will be discovered even when facili- 
ties for work are better. The reason that nothing of consequence was dis- 
covered on~the upper waters is that the Indians never visited those regions 
in any considerable numbers, not that our work was either insufficient or 
careless. The notes continue: 

"We proceeded on down to St. Francis, mapping sites and on 
Saturday, July 11th, went up St. Francis river to Glasier Lake. 
The survey now consisted of twelve men. The tents were pitched 
at the head of the lake, 12 or 15 kilometers north of the St. John. 

"Monday the 13th. Broke camp at Glasier Lake, moved down 
to John's farm at the mouth of the St. Francis river. Here we found 
a good sized camp site and discovered many flint chips, bones, and 
knives. Spent the night there. 

" Tuesday the 14th. Worked in the morning, ran to Fort Kent, 
and camped at mouth of Fish river. 

'Wednesday the 15th. Sent expedition up Fish river, fifteen 
kilometers, but they found nothing. 

'Thursday the 16th. Went thirty kilometers down river to 
Edmonston, [mouth of the Madawaska, Canadian side] finding here 
an Indian village of the Malecites. Engaged a prominent Indian, 
Noel Bernard, and his brother, to go up to lake fifty kilometers up 
the Madawaska to search for quarry site, etc. Dug upon a flat 
near the Indian village. Negative results." 

From now on there were more indications of Indian occupation, but all 
pointed to Algonkian stock rather than Red Paint culture, and most of the 
sites were not very ancient. There are three Indian settlements in New 
Brunswick at various points along the river. At these the older Indians 
took an interest in our work and gave us much information. Every story 
or tradition was investigated, but all related to Indians of the past two hun- 
dred and fifty years. With the exception of the old sub-chief, Noel Bernard, 
who told us of a site at the head of the Madawaska river, the Indians as 
well as the white people were of little or no benefit to our expedition. In 
two days Bernard and his brother returned in the canoe we had given them 
and reported a large quarry site, bringing back about a peck of material. 
This is a dark, almost black flint and seems to have been extensively worked 



234 MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 

by the St. John Indians. It is just possible that the Madawaska stream, 
together with the St. Francis and Tobique, were the three lines of travel by 
canoe between the St. Lawrence and the St. John. This is what the Malecite 
Indians claim. These streams can be investigated some spring but they are 
too small to traverse in the summer except at the expense of great labor and 
the risk of damaging the canoes. 

On the 19th, 20th and 21st, we went down to Grand Falls, in New 
Brunswick, spent a day there digging, but found nothing, and went on an- 
other thirty kilometers to the mouth of the Tobique. Here we spent some 
days investigating, and found that the modern Malecite Indian village was 
built over a prehistoric site — an interesting discovery. No cemetery 
could be found, although several hundred pits were sunk for a radius of 
about four kilometers about the mouth of the river. 

"Wed. the 22nd. Spent a pleasant evening with the priest, 
Father Rvan, who told me all about his work with the Malecite 
Indians. He has been here eight years. We visited numerous 
Indians and found they knew little about ancient times. Went 
up Tobique stream five kilometers and dug, also sunk pits all about 
Indian village. Found a few flint chips and broken knives. 

"Thursday the 23rd. Started from Tobique and ran to Bristol. 
Found an old Mohawk and Malecite fort across river. Dug in same 
but found nothing. Took measurements. No village site. Dug 
at several points along the river on high hills. 

'"Friday the c 24th. Paddled and sailed fifty kilometers to 
Woodstock. Camped on an island. The new guide, James Devoe, 
gave me a list of nine ancient villages of his people, the Male- 
cites, between Tobique and St. John City. 

"Saturday July 25th. The men dug at the mouth of brook 
three kilomet ers up river. They found flint chips and broken knives 
there. We ran to Meduetie, sixteen kilometers below Woodstock 
and camped Saturday evening." 

Meduetie (or Medoctic) is the largest and most important site that we 
have observed on the St. John, and a most interesting place. It is situated 
on a large bottom or flat terrace extending for about a kilometer along the 
west bank, and there are two good springs. At the upper end it is historic 
ground, at the lower, prehistoric. At least so we assume, for there are few 
chipped objects on the upper part of the field, but numerous deposits of 
ashes and burnt stones. 

One of the earliest chapels built by the Jesuits was erected here, and the 
King of Fiance gave a bell to the church about 1650, if I am correctly in- 
formed. From this village raids were organized against the Massachusetts 
colony; it was one of the sites of the French and Indian war, and played its 




PLAN HI 

THE FORKS, 
WEST BRANCH 

BSCOT RIVER. 
TSTON, MAINE. 

SET COUNT y. 

W N B Y E.O.S O G DE N. 191 4. 



236 MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 

part in the American Revolution. The Mohawks and the Malecites had a 
great fight here about three centuries ago. 

" We dug nearly a week on this place, but as oats, potatoes, hay, etc., 
were at their best, damage for destruction of crops was excessive. All the 
farmers have specimens of the usual forms but none of the Red Paint types 
were observed, and no ancient cemetery could be found. A child s skele- 
ton was found during our testing operations, but as it appeared to be recent 
we left it in its grave. The place merits careful study at some future time 

We ascertained at Meductic that Mr. Guernsey of the Peabody Mu- 
seum had visited this site two years previously and that Professor Speck oi 
the University of Pennsylvania, and the American Museum of Natural 
History New York, had worked here and farther down the St. John. We 
did not wish to cover ground they had explored, since their field notes would 
probably be available for our use; therefore, after we had spent some days 
digging'test pits and collecting surface material amounting to over one 
hundred chipped objects and pottery fragments, we left the place and 
moved overland to Eel river, eight kilometers distant to the west. 

The St. Croix Waters 
In Washington County, Maine, are the Grand and Schoodic Lakes and 
the East and West Brandies of the St. Croix River, which drains a consid- 
erable area. As some collections of red jasper and projectile points pre- 
sented to the Peabody Museum by Dr. S. J. Mixter came from Grand 
Lake*, and as the author of this report had frequently heard ot the ' wealth 
of archaeological material" supposed to exist in the St. Croix waters, he de- 
cided to take the survey to that region. On the 30th of July, accordingly, 
we abandoned St. John waters and moving across from the head of Eel river, 
we reached North Lake, the head of the St. Croix, about dark. ^ e camped 
upon a fine sand beach and next morning found a small Indian site. W e 
continued prospecting on this part of the St. Croix and near Forest City up 
to August 2nd and then carried the outfit around a log jam to Spendic or 
Grand Lake. Here heavy winds continued, making the lake dangerous lor 
our canoes, and we therefore chartered a steamer and spent two days ex- 
amining all the points and shores. 

The only specimen recovered was a celt or gouge-hatchet which 
Mr. Crandalmeyer, who owns a cottage on the lake, presented us. Not far 
from the lake, on an elevation or sand ridge known as Indian hill, not quite 
a kilometer from the outlet, two red ocher deposits were discovered by us, 
but no graves. A Dr. Martin, who lives in Vanceboro and occupies a sum- 
mer cottage on one end of this sandy knoll, had found a long Red Paint 

*In Room 32 of Peabody Museum, long case, "Maine": Unfinished implements (cache forms), 
scrapers, rejects, and chips. Found buried about nine inches deep on Twin Sisters Island, Grand Lake 
Washington County, Maine. Most of these stones are wholly or partly of a dark reddish stone (jasper.; 





Fig- 112. Leaf shaped implement, probably complete, to the left; unfinished blade to the 

right. Pittston farm site. See p. 228. S. 1-3. 



238 



M A I N E A RCHA E O L O G Y 



People adze blade, and the proprietor of the Vanceboro Hotel had a slender 
pendant of the Passadumkeag type which was found on a sand beach at the 
lower end of Spendic Lake. The citizens of Vanceboro and vicinity took 
much interest in our work and offered suggestions and freely gave us per- 
mission to excavate, but aside from the sand knoll referred to we could 
find no cemeteries, either modern or ancient. It is probable that the few 
deposits of red ocher in the sand ridge indicate two or three graves, rather 
than a cemetery of any extent. 

Some three weeks were spent in the Grand, Schoodic, and St. Croix 
waters, but no sites other than ordinary camp sites could be discovered, al- 
though we searched diligently. Mr. Manning was meanwhile directed to 
visit East Machias. In company with several men he examined the region 
and I herewith append his report from the field notes. 

East Machias 

"A camp site here on the strip of land between the field owned 
by a Mr. Talbot and the Maine Central railroad track was in- 
vestigated. The field immediately up stream from this lot also 
shows traces of wigwam locations. Where cut by the railroad, the 
layer of black earth bearing chips and many fragments of pottery is 
in places more than 40 cm. thick. The greatest recorded depth for 
pottery was 60 cm. from the surface. The pottery was variously 
decorated. and the decorations, with base and rim forms, seemed to 
indicate the archaic as well as the late types of Algonkian pottery. 
One fragment appeared to be an Algonkian copy of Iroquois rim 
form and design. No pottery indicating shell tempering was seen. 
A favorable-looking knoll adjacent was not tested as the owner did 
not desire us to disturb a heavy hay crop. 

" At the outlet of Gardiner Lake there are evidences of another 
camp site. Gardiner Lake was searched west of the outlet for a mile, 
as was the gravel bluff where the Massachusetts Institute of 
Technology summer cam)) stands. 

" Mr. Smith, who owns land at the outlet, tells of finding gouges 
and 'chisels' on a knoll upon his land, as well as a long slate spear 
and a fragment of one, the latter being presented to us by his son. 

" Mr. Kingsley, the druggist of East Machias, has a small col- 
lection of Algonkian pieces found in the neighborhood. He says 
that a skeleton wrapped in hide (?) was dug out of a gravel knoll 
behind the present town hall. This burial was historic, as the In- 
dian possessed a gun and an iron hatchet." 

The Damariscotta Region 
In 1918 it was decided to examine the coast between the mouth of the 
Georges river and the mouth of the Kennebec, in order to determine if there 




Fig. 113. Three unfinished objects of felsite from Pittston farm site, see p. 228. S. 2-5. 



240 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



were any village sites, Red Paint People's cemeteries, shell heaps, or even 
historic Indian camps to be found there. A small expedition composed of 
three men spent about ten weeks covering this territory. Early in June 
they located at Waldoboro and went to the head of the Medomak river. 
Little of consequence was here found. The men cruised about Waldoboro 
Bay finding a number of shell heaps, which were placed on the maps. Many 
of these were examined by means of the usual test pits, but they were not 
rich in artifacts of bone or stone. 

We then went to Muscongus Island, since reports by local authorities 
indicated a large burial ground there and we knew that relics from graves 
had been in the possession of citizens of Waldoboro. We prospected on the 
north end of the island, which we were told was the site of the cemetery 
but the sand was so shifted and the ocean had washed up such large quan- 
tities of gravel, that it was impossible for us to locate any graves. The shell 
heap on the island was tested by some thirty small pits but little of conse- 
quence was found. On the south end of Hog Island, distant about a kilo- 
meter from Muscongus, we found a shell heap about a hundred meters in 
length, on land owned by Professor Todd of Amherst. As he would not 
occupy his cottage until the 20th of July, we were unable to secure permis- 
sion to work extensively and therefore only sunk a few small pits. We found 
broken pottery, a few small pieces of bone, and one scraper. 

After completing the work at Waldoboro we moved across country 
to Pemaquid Lake and spent some time in investigating the shores of the 
pond, where Mr. A. L. Phelps had discovered a Red Paint cemetery many 
years ago. This had been completely excavated and we could find no re- 
maining graves, but we did find a small village site two hundred meters be- 
low the cemetery, on low land nearer the shore of Pemaquid Pond. 

After some time spent in this region we paddled to the head of Damaris- 
cotta Lake, which is about ten kilometers in length. There some arrow 
heads, chips, and burnt stone were found on certain points near the lake or 
on islands but no village site could be located. The shores of Damariscotta 
River were carefully cruised but nothing of interest was discovered. We 
also examined the large shell heaps at Damariscotta but did no digging, for 
the reason that Professor Putnam had carried on extensive excavations there 
and the net result of his exploration had been set forth in the Peabody Mus- 
eum reports.* 

Why there should be so little of significant remains in accumulations 
more extensive than are found at any other place north of Florida, is not 
evident.** It was always supposed that evidences of a large village site 
would be found near the Damariscotta shell heaps, but even when careful 

*Prof. F. W. Putnam, 2nd Annual Report, Peabody Museum, Harvard Univ., pp. 1-19. 
**At the present time, after much of it has been carted away, the largest heap, at Damariscotta is 

still nearly nine meters in height. 



THE LAKE CHAMPLAIN SURVEY 241 

surface searching was inaugurated, we could find no fields within several 
kilometers above or below the shell heaps or even back toward the hills, 
where there had been an Indian encampment of any considerable size. If 
the Indians camped at the shell heaps they left practically no village-site 
debris. This is remarkable when we consider the size of the heaps and that 
they must have required a long time for accumulating. The following ex- 
planation, however, suggests itself. At the present writing, the oyster beds 
opposite these heaps are not extensive. Old residents of Damariscotta vil- 
lage informed me that there were more oysters in earlier times but the beds 
were never large. If this condition existed in Indian times, fifty or sixty men 
working in the river at low tide for two or three days would greatly reduce 
the available supply of oysters. In order to secure another supply they 
might wait two or three years until the oysters increased. It would not be 
necessary for such a number of Indians to stay near the beds longer than 
two or three days. Then they would return to their villages. The nearest 
large village site is Pemaquid, distant some twelve or fifteen kilometers, 
and there are also other villages along the coast short distances to the 
westward. It seems to the writer that Indians might journey from Pema- 
quid to Damariscotta in a few hours, open shells, secure oysters and re- 
turn home all within a very short time. 

The entire Sheepscot valley and arms of the sea in the vicinity of Wis- 
casset were examined and some shell heaps were found and mapped but no 
Red Paint People burials could be discovered. 

The Lake Champlain Survey of 1917 

At the meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of 
Science held in Portland, Maine, in August, 1873, Professor George H. Per- 
kins of the University of Vermont, who was also State Geologist, read a 
paper entitled "An Ancient Burial Ground in Swanton, Vermont."* This 
paper described a large number of burials somewhat similar to those of the 
so-called Red Paint culture. Archaeologists had been much interested in 
the Maine explorations and at the meetings of the Anthropological Asso- 
ciation and elsewhere the writer of this report was frequently asked whether 
the Red Paint People culture of Maine could be correlated with that of any 
known tribe in the New England region. In order to get some light on this 
question it was decided to explore the Lake Champlain region and particu- 
larly the Swanton site. Accordingly, in June, 1917, the men motored from 
Bucksport, Maine, to Burlington, Vermont, examining various sites on the 
way, and with the cooperation of Professor Perkins, who was with us several 



*This and other papers of Professor Perkins's upon the archaeology of Lake Champlain and Ver- 
mont will be found in the American Anthropologist, n.s. vol. XI, 1909, pp. 607-623; vol. XIII, 1911, 
pp. 239-249; vol. XIV, 1912, pp. 72-80, 584; and in the Reports of the State Geologist of Vermont, 




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THE LAKE CHAMP LAIN SURVEY 243 

weeks during the summer, some three months were spent in careful search 
of the Lake Champlain territory. (See plan XIX.) 

Professor Perkins and our party first visited Colchester Point, about 
nine kilometers north of Burlington on the shore of Lake Champlain. This 
is a long, prominent point entirely composed of sand. Originally there was 
turf and a heavy growth of white pine upon it. Here was the site of an In- 
dian village which extended about five hundred meters. The quartz and 
chips are extremely thick and we picked up four or five different varieties of 
material used by the Indians. The ground is literally covered with thous- 
ands of smaU and large flakes, burnt stone, etc. Pottery is not common. 
Professor Perkins found a grooved, decorated stone, six or seven centimeters 
in length. It is shaped like a plummet and made of steatite. Mr. Sugden 
found twenty-five spear heads and arrow heads in a cache, which lay in a 
compact space about ten centimeters in diameter. We secured fifty speci- 
mens in all. They cover the usual Champlain types as described and illus- 
trated in Professor Perkins's published papers. 

Afterwards the field party went entirely around the shores of Lake 
Champlain, locating and mapping village sites. Mr. L. B. Truax of St. 
Albans, who had witnessed the early excavations in the Swanton graves 
about fifty years before, suggested that we examine the Mississiquoi River 
in Swanton, as many objects had been found along the b&nk. Accordingly 
we spent several days cruising in a motor boat up and down the river. Near 
the mouth we found what Mr. Truax thinks are three levels of occupation in 
the banks. They may be large camp sites which were overflowed, as the 
river is sometimes over its banks. The banks are of clay, not gravel. Pro- 
fessor Perkins was not certain what caused these strata. The lowest layer, 
which is down a meter below the surface, furnished the rougher objects. 
More work will have to be done in that region. 

The men went also to Highgate Springs and worked there about two 
days observing small camp sites, and after the examination of the Mississi- 
quoi River we went to Isle la Motte where is a large site on a prominent 
sand point at the north end. Champlain visited this place and the Jesuits 
set up a mission there in early days. At the present time there is a Catholic 
shrine on the spot and we could not secure permission to excavate until the 
writer had interviewed Bishop Rice, who is in charge of the Burlington 
diocese. He permitted us to dig up to within ten meters of the shrine itself. 
In the sand, at a depth ranging from ten centimeters to one meter, much 
broken pottery was discovered from which we maybe able partially to restore 
some vessels. While the pottery in the upper layers appeared to be later 
but not Iroquoian in character, the lower layers contained fragments of ves- 
sels of the pointed base type, the archaic Algonkian form. The amount of 
debris left by the Indians at this place would suggest that, with the possible 
exception of Colchester Point, the Isle la Motte shrine marks the largest 




PLAH XHI 

O U T l 



■ ■ ■ 



THE LAKE CHAMPLAIN SURVEY 245 

Indian site upon Lake Champlain. It is natural that Champlain and the 
Fathers, when voyaging on Lake Champlain, would stop at the largest vil- 
lage and there set up the mission. 

At various points along the Mississiquoi river and upon Big and Little 
Otter Creeks are camp sites, and three large ash pits containing unio shells 
were found. At the outlet of Lake Champlain there are other sites, and a 
number of collections were observed and studied at Rouses Point. The re- 
gion between Rouses Point and the St. Lawrence river was not examined. 
Although we had letters from the Canadian Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 
Mr. Scott, and also from Professor Smith, Curator of the Ottawa Museum, 
it was thought inadvisable to take a party of strangers down the river, as 
Canada was at this time engaged in the World War and the border was 
heavily patrolled. The Canadian authorities will probably explore the re- 
gion between the foot of Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence at some fu- 
ture time. 

Having examined the Lake Champlain sector to some extent and en- 
tered the sites upon plan XX, we concentrated on the S wanton sector. Pro- 
fessor Perkins and Mr. Truax were with us the entire time we were there. 
About three kilometers north of the village of Swanton is a long, high ridge 
composed of fine sand. Here, about 1865 or 1866, when local people began 
cutting the heavy growth of first-growth white pine, the Swanton cemetery 
was discovered by accident, there being nothing on the surface to indicate 
the presence of graves. Professor Perkins's report and further conversation 
with Mr. Truax and Mr. John W. Brough, who were both present when the 
first graves were opened and from whom Professor Perkins had heard of the 
site, led us to believe that at least twenty-five and possibly thirty-five 
graves were discovered. They ranged about a meter below the surface. 
After the pines were removed, as Lake Champlain is subject to heavy winds, 
the sand began to blow and dunes were formed. Indeed it was due to the 
wind action that the first graves were discovered; then digging was resorted 
to by local collectors. In some instances the sand was entirely blown away 
and the graves uncovered by the wind. As it has been impossible to find an- 
other cemetery in the region and no more graves could be discovered in 
this one, although we dug several hundred pits, and further in view of the 
importance to New England archaeology of the Swanton finds, it is well to 
reprint here a portion of Professor Perkins's report. Certain changes have 
been made with the author's consent and therefore quotation marks are 
omitted. 

The sand in which the Indians dug graves is of very light color but that 
immediately around and beneath the body was with two exceptions col- 
ored a dark red or reddish brown; in the exceptional cases it was black. 
This red sand was from ten to fifteen centimeters thick and the color was 
undoubtedly due to the presence of red iron oxide or red hematite, small 




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THE LAKE CHAMPLAIN SURVEY 247 

pieces of a compact, deep-red variety of that mineral having been found in 
several of the graves. These bits of ore might color water if powdered, but 
they were not soft enough to have caused discoloration of the sand by stain- 
ing such water as" might have trickled through it. Thus the oxide must have 
been powdered and mixed with water or perhaps with the blood of some ani- 
mal, and poured into the graves as a part of the funeral rites. As nearly all 
of the objects taken from the graves are stained, as well as the sand, it is 
probable that the coloring material was poured over the body and objects 
after they were placed in the grave. The black color in the graves was prob- 
ably due to decomposition of organic matter, no coloring liquid having been 
poured into those graves. 

The skeletons in these graves were much decomposed, only two bones, a 
femur and a radius, being entire, with several others nearly whole. From 
one grave was taken nearly half of a skull, but most of the bones crumbled 
more or less on exposure to the air. 

Of the objects themselves, a number of smooth, water- worn pebbles of 
white quartz weighing about a pound each, were found. They averaged 
about ten centimeters in length, seven in width, and two and a half in thick- 
ness. In one grave was a piece of black shale resembling the Lorraine shales 
of New York, about fifteen centimeters long. This was not worked. In 
another was a large piece of dark red Potsdam sandstone, which occurs in 
formation near Highgate. This was rudely squared and smoothed. 

Eight or ten copper implements were found, several of the larger ones 
being chisel-shaped, long and slender. The surface was slightly convex and 
the corners beveled. There was a groove running along the sides of each 
copper tool. Some of these tools are quite sharp and all of them are of the 
native copper from Lake Superior. 

Fragments of wood occurred and numbers of shell beads and one or two 
entire specimens of the small marginella conoidalis, common on the Florida 
coast, were found. These shells were drilled longitudinally through the 
spiral. There were about fifty small shell ornaments cut from the col- 
umellae of large shells, from four to seven centimeters in length. Most of 
these were perforated. Several stone ornaments, a bird stone, and a bicave 
or discoidal, are shown in fig. 120. It is unusual to find a bicave or discoidal 
stone in a grave. Some of the problematic forms of dark veined slate are of 
the well-known perforated type, rectangular with one surface flat, the other 
convex. 

The most interesting of the objects from the graves were the masses of 
iron or iron nodules and the stone tubes. About a dozen of these tubes, 
similar to those shown in figs. 118 and 119 were taken out of the graves.* 

* The tube shown in fig. 118, now in the Andover collection, is 23^! cm. long, 26 mm. wide at the open 
end, 24 mm. wide at the mouth piece, and about 35 mm. wide in the center. 



248 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



Three or four of these are in the State of Vermont and University of Ver- 
mont collections; Mr. Truax possesses one; Phillips Academy secured the one 
which Mr. Brough had kept in his possession for more than forty years; one 
is in the Smithsonian Institution collection, another in a museum at Paris, 
one probably in the Museum of the American Indian, New York, and the 
others are scattered. They are much larger than the two tubes found by 
Phillips Academy surveys at Mason's Cemetery, Lake Alamoosook, both 
of which are shown in fig. 28 of this report. 

Professor Perkins's comments may be condensed as follows : 

All tubes showed great care in manufacture. Materials differ, some 
hard, others quite soft. The hardest can be scratched by a knife and all 
appear to be made of a kind of argillaceous sandstone, sand predominating 
in harder and clay in softer tubes. The surface is very smooth in most, and 
shows few marks of the tools by which they were wrought. 

One tube is especially interesting because on it are the only markings 
found on any object taken from the graves. They are near one end of the 
tube and consist of an outline drawing of some bird, with three characters 
below it. The objects are engraved or scratched on tube, scratches some- 
what irregular and neither wide nor deep, some very fine. The bird re- 
sembles a fish-hawk, 2.5 cm. long and 1.5 cm. broad across wings. The three 
characters below the bird are made up of straight lines and dots, about 5 
mm. high and a little less in width. The color of the tubes is light drab 
except where stained by iron oxide. 

They are not uniform in size throughout the length, but largest at one 
end, and often both ends are larger than the middle. Three somewhat di- 
verse forms are found. One is contracted near one end and enlarges very 
gradually until near the opposite end, when it again contracts, the shape be- 
ing similar to an ordinary ball club. Another form has greatest diameter at 
one end, from which the tube contracts, first rapidly but soon gradually to 
the other end. Another has a raised rim at the mouthpiece and is then slight- 
ly contracted, with the body of even size. The tubes vary from 12 to 25 
cm. in length. Tubes of the first form described are largest, those of the 
second smallest. Both ends of the tubes are cut off squarely. All are per- 
forated in the same manner, the hole running directly from end to end, 
being about twice as large at one end as at the other. In the largest tube 
found the bore is 2.25 cm. in diameter at one end and 1 cm. at the other. 
The larger end of the bore seems to have been scraped out (after the main 
portion of the hole was made), by some thin-edged instrument. Through 
most of the length of the tube the walls are thicker than at the ends. In 
some tubes the small perforation from the mouthpiece inward does not 
strike the center but is to one side. In nearly every tube a stone plug was 
found, fitted to the smaller orifice, but not well made. In Fig. 118 is in- 







PLANXSZm 



OUTLINE MAP 

O F TH E 

NORTH WEST PART 

'O F 

.AROOSTOOK COUNTY, 
MAINE. 
DRAWN 6 Y 

19 I 9 



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250 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



eluded a stone plug which was found in the tube we secured from Mr. 
Brough. 

The presence of these tubes in the graves at Swanton marks a departure 
from the Red Paint People culture. Similar stone tubes are on exhibition in 
the large collection in the Morgan Memorial Museum at Hartford. They 
have been found in graves in Connecticut, and this emphasizes the impor- 
tance of the Connecticut work recently projected and to be carried out in 
coming years. Until a number of cemeteries in that State are opened it may 
be premature to draw conclusions; however, we will state that the associa- 
tion in Vermont graves of Lake Superior prehistoric copper and early 
problematical forms with these tubes and iron nodules, and the presence of 
similar tubes from Indian sites in Connecticut Museums, brings before us one 
of the most interesting and important problems in New England archaeol- 
ogy. The Swanton graves do not appear to be what is known as late Algon- 
kian. They are certainly not late Iroquoian at all. They are not of the Red 
Paint People culture, for there are no gouges, adze blades, long slate spears or 
plummet effigies; but they represent American stone-age art of high type 
and may indicate a very early culture. Certainly they present forms well 
worth careful study and consideration. 

Professor Perkins has suggested that the tubes are similar to sev- 
eral found in the mounds of the Scioto Valley, Ohio, but tubes there are very 
rare, and while Squier and Davis found one or two, the writer found none in 
the great Hopewell group and he is not aware that Professor Mills has discov- 
ered any in the fifteen or more large mound-builder sites explored by him in 
the past twenty years. Furthermore, the few tubes found in the Ohio 
mounds, while associated with some copper, are not accompanied by such 
other objects as were found in the Swanton graves. It is to be regretted that 
a cemetery of the importance of Swanton can not be found by modern in- 
vestigators and properly hand-trowelled out. Let us hope that we may be 
able by diligent research to discover an undisturbed burying ground of simi- 
lar character elsewhere in New England. 

Finally, Professor Perkins appears to be correct in his contention that 
the Lake Champlain Valley was considered both by the Algonkins and 
Iroquois as "the enemy's country". After the formation of the Iroquois 
League about 1570, the villages of the Algonkin on Lake Champlain appear 
to have been raided, and in early historic times and shortly after Champlain's 
visit to Isle la Motte the Indians did not live in any numbers on the lake 
shores but moved back on tributary streams. It would appear therefore 
that the village near Swanton was not inhabited at the time of Champlain's 
visit. How much earlier the cemetery is, it is impossible to state, but we are 
of the opinion that its antiquity is considerable. 




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PART V. 
CONCLUDING REMARKS 

These eight seasons spent in the Maine field and in extended study of 
material secured from the graves, shell heaps, and village sites, afford suffi- 
cient data for some general observations. The author of this report has 
visited all the museums in which Maine artifacts are exhibited, and includes 
in his summary, reports of other persons together with their collections. As 
one result of all our labors in the State of Maine, about twenty thousand ob- 
jects* have been taken from various sites. Nearly four thousand of these we 
have placed in museums in Maine. 

The first question which arises in the minds of many students is with 
reference to the total Indian population in Maine about the year 1600. It 
is impossible to give even an approximate estimate in figures, but in view of 
the large accumulation of village-site material along the coast, the writer is 
of the opinion that the present tendency to minimize Indian population in 
New England is not correct. 

We might secure light on the problem by means of a simple comparison. 
The village of the Norridgewocks, where Father Rasles met his heroic death 
contained a good many Indians who had probably been there for some time, 
yet when one inspects the surface of this site, very few implements, chips of 
flint, broken pottery, or other artifacts are to be found, in comparison with 
other sites which were unknown to either the earlier voyager or later ob- 
servers. Pemaquid also is frequently mentioned in the early narratives as 
containing a considerable Indian population, yet little is found at Pemaquid 
compared with Mattawamkeag, and the objects of bone, stone, shell, or clay 
are far less in number than those discovered about the shores of Sebec Lake 
or even at Moosehead. Castine was a rendezvous of the Indians at the time 
of the earliest French exploration, and Indians remained in the vicinity of 
Castine as late as 1750 or 1760, yet an exploration of a dozen shell heaps 
within a radius of about eleven kilometers from Castine and of seven shell 
heaps within three kilometers of Count Castine's fort, reveals very few ob- 
jects of European manufacture, and these are found in the upper layers of 
the heap. There were many traders and travelers, both French and Eng- 
lish, coming to the settlement and bartering with the Indians; at one time 
more than four hundred Indian warriors assembled to join the white inhabi- 
tants in an attack on the New England settlements; yet notwithstanding a 
long period of occupancy by the Indians, traces of contact with Europeans 
are very slight about Castine. This is not mere opinion but the result of ex- 



* Three thousand of these were in the Marks collection, which we purchased. 



Mffl-KGATC JPIMNG-* 




PLAN XTX 

SITES ABOUT LAKE CHAMPLAIN 



YJlonkto-n 
Pond 



CffCCNNES. 



Bristol 

Pond 



M A I N E ARCH A E O L O r; Y 



tended and careful exploration of many sites, not only upon the coast but 
extending up the rivers far into the interior. 

All this seems to the writer to be significant. If we find so little ma- 
terial indicating contact with Europeans on sites which are frequently men- 
tioned in our historical narratives, and if we further know that there were 
large numbers of Indians ssembled at these places and that the contact be- 
tween the whites and the Indians covered a period of time not less than 150 
years, we are justified in drawing the conclusion that the other Indian sites on 
which so much material has been found must have been occupied for a 
very considerable length of time by a large number of Indians, and that for 
the most part such sites are prehistoric. 

Small pox and other epidemics are known to have carried off several 
thousand New England Indians in the sixteenth and early seventeenth cen- 
turies. Probablv natives in Maine were affected as well as others. Be that 

■ 

- it may, it would seem within the bounds of reason to conclude tha 
eral thousand Indians were living along the Maine coast and in the interior 
about the vear 1600. 

The reasons that so many large villa. rig the coast are 

not far to seek. Here the inhabitants were assured of a continuous supply of 
fish, seals, ducks, clams, and other foo. >btained from the sea and 

adjacent lands. They could make excursion- lurations into the 

interior and procure beaver, deer. bear, otter, mo skrats tnd 

other game. In case the hunters of large villi: _ d the deer. mo« 

beaver, and other game of one part of the country, parties could be made up 
and distant points in the interior visited. • h trips they would hunt for 

a certain period, then construct birch bark canoes and bring the skins and 

>ked meat back to the villa_ They preferred to do this because if the 

largest villa,. - re located in the interior. _ dd certainly 

cause the inhabitants of the villages to suffer. On fresh water ponci^ 
difficult to secure fish in quantities through the ice. and should the beaver in 

ertain area become - md the deer and moose migrate as these ani- 

mals often do. suffering would result in winter. On th -hore on the 

contrary, they might be restricted for a considerable length of time to s 
food, but they - certain of the mean- supporting life. The 

large vil Bang 5 efficiently near the - to share this 

antai. 

iiesuncook a M ductic. Sebee and Moosehead. are excep 
far inland, yet here tl rigines were in the heart of a great game and fi 

country and it is not to be supposed that in ancient times there was any great 
amount of suffering. From Meductic the Indian could reach tide water on 
the lc - John in about four days* travel. The inhabitants o! Chesun- 

>k could canoe I hie in six days, and Sebec Lake is within four da 

stine. From the upper St. John and the u: x>k 







Plus 



Tube from Swanton C-ra/es 
Vermont" 



Fig. 118. Tube and plug from Swanton grave. Below to left, the opening at mouth; to right, the 

open end. P. 253. S. 1-2. 




Fie. 119. A Swanton tube in the Smithsonian collection. S. 1-2. 



256 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



it would not however be possible to reach the ocean in less than eight or 
ten days' travel. Probably many of the Indians from Chesuncook and Me- 
ductic, as well as other interior sites, came down the river late in the fall and 
spent the winter near the coast. 

I have referred to the ease of travel by water in the State of Maine. 
Although our expeditions covered great distances by canoe, yet when one 
inspects all the routes that could be taken by water, it is seen that we have 
traversed less than ten percent of the canoe mileage of that State. That 
Indians penetrated to every corner accessible by canoe, is not to be doubted. 
Probably they travelled on foot with light packs to the heads of rivers or 
lakes, constructed their birch bark crafts there and then made their way 
down. In travelling down stream the distance one may journey in a day 
depends on the water and the hours of labor. For Indians to force their 
canoes fifty kilometers in one day would not be excessive. We have equalled 
that when we have not had head winds to fight. At the proper stage of 
water it would be possible to journey from Moosehead Lake to Castine in 
one week, provided no stops were made for hunting or fishing. 

Notwithstanding very careful work, none of our expeditions were able 
positively to identify a village site of the Red Paint People. Mr. Smith was 
more fortunate, as has been observed. (See pages 134-143). 

No uniformity is to be observed in the relation of shell heaps to Red 
Paint cemeteries. On Mr. Haskell's estate. Blue Hill, where there was a 
large cemetery, there is no shell heap of great extent near. The reverse is 
true at Sullivan Falls, where there are large heaps within a few kilometers 
of the cemetery. From Boynton's shell-heap site to the cemetery at Ells- 
worth is about twelve kilometers. The nearest large heaps to Lake Alamoo- 
sook are those of Castine, probably twenty kilometers south. 

Although Alamoosook is considered the center of the Red Paint People 
culture because of the grouping of cemeteries about it, no really large village 
site was identified there, the numerous specimens that have been found about 
the outlet being chiefly Algonkian forms. It is not to be supposed that the 
Red Paint People would use a different class of materials where their habi- 
tations were located, from those placed in the graves. 

Professor Mills of the Ohio Museum was able to solve many of the prob- 
lems concerning the Mound Builder culture of that State by twenty years' 
intensive work in a small area. In the State of Maine also it is probable that 
should the state authorities, as has been suggested, continue a survey in the 
field from May to October during the next twenty years, all these various 
questions could be satisfactorily answered. Labors in the Ohio field are, to 
be sure, much easier than in Maine; the mounds are prominent landmarks, 
the country is all cultivated, and there is no unbroken forest. These factors 
should be taken into account by the critical reader of our report on explora- 
tions. 



B 




D E 

Fig. 120. Specimens from University of Vermont collections. Found in the Champlain region. 
S. 2-3. A. Champlain Valley. B. Hubbardton, Vt. C. From a grave at Swanton. D. From a grave 
at Swanton. E. From Champlain Valley. 



PLANXX 




OUTLINE MAP 
<t or 

£ LINCOLN COUNTY 
MAINE 

D RAWN BY 
E.O.SU GO E N 
19 19 



CONCLUDING REMARKS 259 

It is unnecessary to recapitulate our evidence as to the lack of known 
Algonkian forms in the Red Paint graves or the total absence of Red Paint 
People types in the shell heaps. Figs. 122 and 123 are of well known Algon- 
kian types, found on the surface in Maine. Readers are requested to 
carefully compare these with the grave finds. 

The practical field archaeologist, if at all familiar with New England 
cultures, will concur in the suggestion that there was a very early culture oc- 
cupying an area in central and southern Maine, which was separate and dis- 
tinct from other and probably later cultures. Whether this subsequently be- 
came Algonkian is to be doubted, and we have already stated that it is un- 
like any other culture, save possibly that of the Eskimo. To a certain ex- 
tent the Swanton graves in Vermont indicate another very early culture 
similar to one which we shall probably find in Connecticut. Thus in Con- 
necticut as well as near Lake Champlain, there may be a tribe, if not a cul- 
ture, preceding the southern and northern New England Indians as we have 
known them in the last three centuries. The proposed archaeological survey 
of the rest of New England will probably determine just how many cultures 
obtained in the area outside of Maine. 

We know that certain well known tribes, such as the Podunk, Pequot, 
and Narragansett, had large villages and cemeteries of considerable extent. 
When these are carefully investigated we shall undoubtedly have assembled 
for the inspection of students a large fund of information. It may be pos- 
sible then to determine whether there were marked local or tribal dif- 
ferences between the art-forms used by these several divisions of Algonkian 
stock. Other cemeteries indicating the presence of a culture not Podunk 
or Pequot, or Narragansett may possibly be found. The presence in Con- 
necticut museums of a few tubes identical with those from Swanton neces- 
sitates careful search for cemeteries of all kinds, regardless of whether they 
relate to the historic or the prehistoric period. The problem of the origin of 
the Pequot, Podunk and Narragansett tribes is thus before us and should 
have our earnest consideration, since it may have a direct bearing upon our 
Maine cultures. It seems that we are dependent upon archaeology and above 
all on the tabulation and study of art-forms from the graves, if we are to 
form conclusions as to the origin and development of the several cul- 
tures or tribes in that interesting section of our country which lies east of 
the Hudson river. 

Finally, the author of this report considers the Red Paint People to be 
separate and distinct from other tribes of the New England region. Their 
culture is peculiar and cannot be correlated with any known tribe either his- 
toric or prehistoric. 




Fig. 121. A peculiar problematical form found in Holway's cemetery, Orland about 18 years ago. 
Owned by Mr. Sugden for sonic years. Present location unknown. Drawn from memory by Mr. Sugden. 
Full size. Material, banded slate. 




Fig. 122. Types of Algonkiau axes from Maine — for comparison with Red Paint Feople types 

in cutting tools. S. 1-5. 









dr'. 



W 



PLANIXI 



OUTLINE MAP 

r 

KNOX COUNTY, MAIN 

DRAWN BY 
E O S U&DZN 
1919 




Fig. 123 Types of grooved cutting tools from Maine; for comparison with 
Red Paint People types. S. about 1-3. 



ROSTER OF MEN WHO SERVED ON THE SEVERAL 

EXPEDITIONS 

W. K. MOOREHEAD, Andoveh, Mass., Director of all the Surveys 



1912 



Francis B. Manning, Harvard University. In 
charge of field notes and specimens. 

Arthur E. Marks, Yarmouth, Maine. Assistant. 

Charles A. Perkins, Wakefield, Mass. Photog- 
rapher. 

John Martinez, New Mexico. 

Ludwig K. Moorehead, Andover, Mass. 

Elbert Porter, New York. 

Phillips Bradley, Harvard University. 



Sam Parks, Mattawamkeag, Maine. Riverman. 
Frank Hagar, Moosehead, Maine. Guide. 
Albert Staples, Orland, Maine. Cook. 
Charles Hutchings, Orland, Maine. 
Ralph Lord, Bucksport, Maine. 
C. Valentine Soper, Orland, Maine. 
Donald F. Eldridge, Orland, Maine. 
William Hutchings, Jr., Orland, Maine. 
William Hutchings, Sr., Orland, Maine. 



1913 



F. B. Manning. Assistant. 
E. 0. Sugden, Orland, Maine. 
Capt. I. L. Crabtree, Maine. 

navigation. 
Charles Hutchings. 
Herbert Young, Connecticut. 



F. B. Manning. Assistant. 

E. O. Sugden. Surveyor. 

Sam Parks. Riverman. 

L. K. Moorehead. Photographer. 

Eli Badger, Maine. Guide. 

James Rideout, Maine. Cook. 



E. 0. Sugden. Assistant. 
W. W. Taylor. Chauffeur. 
W. HutchiNgs, Sr. 
Ralph Lord, 



E. 0. Sugden. Assistant. 
Ralph Lord. Guide. 
S. P. Moorehead. 



E. 0. Sugden. Assistant. 
Ralph Dorr. Cook. 
Marshall Allaben, New York. 



Surveyor. 
In charge of 



Ralph Lord. 

J. Martinez, New Mexico. 

L. K. Moorehead. 

Robert R. Bishop, Mass. 

Elijah Grant, Maine. 

W. W. Taylor, Mass. 

C. Valentine Soper, Maine. 



1914 



Ralph Lord. Guide. 

Donald Appleton, Mass. 

Fred Lund, Mass. 

S. P. Moorehead. 

J. Martinez. 

R. Bishop. 

D. K. Wright. 

1915 

S. P. Moorehead. 

Warren Taylor, Ohio. 

Edward Selden. 

Frank Cowan. Cook. 

Walter B. Smith. Geologist (a few weeks). 

1917 (Lake Champlain) 

Prof. George H. Perkins. Geologist (a few 

weeks) . 
W. Hutchings, Sr. 



1918 



Walter B. Smith, Maine. 
weeks) . 



Geologist (a few 



264 



ROSTER OF MEN 



E. O. Sugden. Assistant. 

W. HuTCHINGS, Sl{. 

Ralph Dorr. Cook. 



George Valliant, Mass. 



E. O. Sugdex. Assistant. 
Ralph Dorr. Guide. 
Norwood Eldridge. 
S. P. Moorehead. 



1919 (Connecticut Valley) 

Norwood Eldridge, Maine. 
Jambs Brewster, Mass. 
Fred Stott. (A few weeks). 
Dr. C. M. Fuess. (A few weeks). 

At Waterville 

S. P. Moorehead. 

W. W. Taylor. Chauffeur, 



1920 



Frank Dorr. 

Wm. W. Taylor. Chauffeur. 

Milton Taylor. 

\Y. IV Smith. (A few weeks) 



SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY* 

OF THE 

ARCHAEOLOGY AND ETHNOLOGY OF MAINE 

Abbott, C. C. Primitive industry. Salem, Mass., 1881. 

Alger, A. L. A collection of words and phrases taken from the Passamaquoddy tongue. (Proceedings 
of the American philosophical society, v.xxn, p. 240-255, 1885) 

Alger, A. L. The creation. A Penobscot Indian myth told by one.of the tribe to Abby L. Alger. (Pop- 
ular scjence monthly, v. xliv, p. 195-196, 1893) 

Allen, G. M. Dogs of the American aborigines. (Bulletin of the Museum of comparative zoology, 
Harvard college, v. lxiii, p. 458-469, 1920) 

Baird, S. F. Notes on some aboriginal shell mounds on the coast of New Brunswick and of New Eng- 
land. (Proceedings of the United States national museum, v.iv, 1881, p. 292-297, 1882) 

Bates, O. & Winlock, H. E. Archaeological material from the Maine littoral with especial reference to 
the Bates collection. 2v., n.d. (Typewritten thesis for Anthropology 20, Harvard university) 

Baxter, J. P. The Abnakis and their ethnic relations (Collections and proceedings of the Maine his- 
torical society, ser. 2, v. in, p. 13-40, 1892) 

Berry, G. S. The great shell mounds of Damariscotta. (New England magazine, n. s., v. xix, 
p. 178-188, 1898-99) 

Brinton, D. G. The Lenape and their legends. Philadelphia, 1885. 

Brown, (Mrs.) W. W. "Chief-making" among the Passamaquoddy Indians. (Journal of American 
folk-lore, v. v, p. 57-59, 1892) 

Brown, (Mrs.) W. W. Wa-ba-ba-nal, or northern lights. A Wabanaki legend. (Journal of American 
folk-lore, v. in, p. 213-214, 1890) 

BushnellD. I., Jr. The "Red-paint People". (American anthropologist, n. s., v. xv, p. 707-710, 1913) 

Bushnell, D. I., Jr. The "Red-paint people" — n. (American anthropologist, n. s., v. xvn, p. 207-209, 
1915) 

Chadbotjrne, H. P. Oyster shell deposit in Damariscotta. (Collections of the Maine historical society, 
v. vi, p, 345-351, 1859) 

Chadwick, J. An account of a journey from Fort Pownal, now Fort Point, up the Penobscot River to 
Quebec, in 1674. (Bangor historical magazine, v. iv, p. 141-148, 1888-89) 

Cushing, F. H. Exploration of ancient Key Dwellers' remains on the Gulf Coast of Florida. (American 
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Denys, N. Description geographique et historique des costes de l'Amerique Septentrionale. Paris, 1672. 

Dixon, R. B. The early migrations of the Indians of New England and the Maritime Provinces. (Pro- 
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Fewkes, J. W. A contribution to Passamaquoddy folk-lore. (Journal of American folk-lore, v. in, 
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Godfrey, J. E. The ancient Penobscot or Panawanskek. (Collections of the Maine historical society, 
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Gookin, D. Historical collections of the Indians in New England. (Collections of the Massachusetts 
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Gordon, G. B. Penobscot birch bark canoe. (University of Pennsylvania. Museum journal, v. i, 
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Greenleaf, M. Indian place names: Indian names of some of the streams, islands, etc., on the Penob- 
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Hardy, Manly. A shell heap near south end of Great Deer Isle, Penobscot Bay. A letter to Professor 
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266 



MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



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Hatnes, H. W. Some new evidences of cannibalism among the Indians of New England from the island 

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Howley, J. P. The Beothuks or Red Indians; the aboriginal inhabitants of Newfoundland. Cam- 
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Kellogg, E. Vocabulary of words in the language of the Quoddy Indians. (Collections of the Mas- 
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Leland, C. G. Algonquin legends of New England. Boston, 1884. „ 

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MAINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



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INDEX 



Adze blades, 26, 42, 55, 75, 81, 84, 93, 94, 97, 100, 
102, 107, 108, 110, 115, 121, 133, 149, 150, 159, 
181, 238. 

Agassiz Museum, 9. 

Alamoosook Unit, 103, 111, 112. 

Alden, Dr. John, 87, 121. 

Algonkian graves, 97, 101. 

Algonkian forms, 210. 

Algonkin village sites, 108. 

Algonkins, 103, 143, 150, 186, 213. 

Allaben, Marshall C, 10. 

Androscoggin Region, 212. 

Allen, Dr. Glover M., 100, 139, 141, 162, 165, 166, 

189, 202. 

Antiquity of shell-heaps, 204. 

Antler ends, 192. 

Archaeological monuments, 12. 

Argillite, 21. 

Arrow points, 136, 150, 156, 163, 164, 165, 183, 188, 

190, 193, 195, 196, 218, 222, 226, 228, 229, 231, 
243. 

Artifacts, 154, 156, 175, 177, 252. 

Ashes, etc... 29, 86, 91, 139, 162, 164, 171, 202, 222, 

227, 234. 
Ash pits, 82, 86, 214, 225, 227, 232, 245. 
Awls, 156 : 163, 1(86, 175, 192, 193, 195, 197, 199. 
Axes, 21, 85, 159, 181, 213, 231, 260. 



Bangor Historical Society, 115. 

Bangor Unit, 115, 121. 

Bates, Prof. Arlo, 13, 152. 

Baxter, Hon. James P., 11, 208. 

Baxter, Percival, 11. 

Beads, 219. 

Beothuk Theory, 150. 

Bibliography. 152, 265-268. 

Bicave, 247. 

Birch bark, 46. 

Bird stone, 247. 

Blanding, E. M., 11. 

Blue Hill, 67, 114, 120, 121, 130, 256. 

Bone beads, 202. 

Bone implements, tools, or worked, 137, 139, 149, 

150, 156, 158, 162, 164, 165, 167-169, 175, 176, 

180, 191, 192, 199, 203. 
Bones, 49, 97, 100, 135, 139, 156, 162, 165, 166, 168, 

177, 182, 189, 191, 192, 193, 195, 214, 225, 233, 

240. 
Boulders, 89, 90, 92, 94, 1 4, 216, 228. 
Boynton, Nathan, 163. 



Boynton's shell-heap, 153, 155, 157, 163, 164, 
165, 166, 171, 177, 179, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 
187, 192, 193, 199, 202, 256. 

Broken objects, 156, 168, 226. 

Brough, John W., 245, 248, 250. 

Buckskin, 43, 46, 49, 67. 

Bushnell, D. I.rJr., 149, 150. 

Butler's shell-heap, 157, 165, 177, 187, 199. 



Cache, 57, 84, 212, 227. 

Calf Island shell heap, 153, 158, 162, 166, 187. 

Cannibalism, 168. 

Canoe travel, 15. 

Castine, 29, 158, 160, 166, 167, 168, 169, 174, 176, 

252, 254, 256. 
Celts, 20, 21, 26, 28, 29, 34, 38, 58, 67, 76, 85, 102, 

107, 121, 137, 156, 159, 165, 168, 171, 172, 173, 

181, 213, 224, 227, 229, 230, 236. 
Chemical analysis, 133. 
Chert. 21, 36, 91, 193. 
Chipped implements, 34, 43, 94, 97, 111, 112, 133, 

140, 150, 163, 168, 179, 183, 191, 223, 225, 

236. 
Chipped stone, 182. 
Chips, 29, 34, 91, 156, 159, 168, 175, 177, 207, 214, 

215, 226., 227, 228, 229, 230, 231, 233, 234. 
Circular depression, 175. 
Circular ridge, 91. 
Clams, 152, 156, 174, 177, 182. 
Clam shells, 164, 165, 204. 
Classifications, 103, 133, 180. 
Claw-shaped object, 132. 
Clay objects, 165. 
Club, 67, 181, 192. 
Concluding remarks, 252. 
Conclusions, 199. 
Concretionary formation, 132. 
Connecticut River Archaeological Survey, 95. 
Contact of Stone Age Indians with Europeans, 219. 
Copper, 67, 145, 147, 165, 250. 
Copper beads, 46, 49, 145. 
Copper cylinders, 145. 
Copper implements, 247. 
Copper plate, 145. 
Cremation pits, 135, 136, 144. 
Crescent, 74, 85, 90, 97, 111, 114, 117, 123, 124, 149, 

150. 
Crockery, 91. 
Cushing, F. H., 13. 
Cutting tools, 262. 



270 



AINE ARCHAEOLOGY 



Cylinders, 64. 
Cylinders, brass, 219. 

Dagger-like objects, 131. 
Damariscotta region, 238, 240. 
Discs, 175. 
Drills, 136, 183. 
Dunnack, Hon. H. E., 11. 



Earthworks, 12. 

Effigies, 29, 67, 74, 75, 77, 78, 97, 104, 111, 115, 

121, 124, 150, 162. 
Eldridge, Donald F., 9. 
Ellsworth Cemetery, 130. 
Ellsworth Unit, 114, 115. 
Emerson cemetery, 26, 28, 33, 34, 36, 41, 43, 44, 45, 

46, 47, 48, 54, 59, 61, 62, 81, 90, 97, 103, 104, 107, 

109, 110, 114, 130, 132, 133. 
Eskimo, 151. 
European objects, 167, 176. 



Felsite, Kineo. 15, 21, 24, 36, 145, 163, 182, 183, 193, 

217, 223, 224, 226, 229, 239. 
Fetishes, 218. 

Fire-making outfits, 141, 146. 

Fire pits, 16, 21, 28, 36, 86, 91, 92, 93, 134, 212, 222. 
Fire stones, 28, 54, 97, 133, 163, 174, 175. 
Fish hooks, 162, 163, 165, 175, 193, 196, 228. 
Flaking tools, 194. 
Flint implements, 162. 
Fort Pentagoet, 166, 167, 168, 252. 
Frenchman's Bay, 76, 125, 130, 152, 154, 158, 162, 

163, 229. 
Frequency of finished specimens, 182. 
Fuess, Dr. ('. ML 9. 



General Account of Expeditions, 12. 

Georges River, 86. 114, 121, 127, 238. 

Georges River Unit, 121. 

Godfrey's Cemetery. 98, 114, 115. 120, ISO. 

Godfrey, Fred, 93, 120, 130, 133. 

Gouges, 20, 23, 24, 26, 28, 29, 38, 42, 51, 52, 
54, 55, 56, 58, 67, 75, 76, 80, 81, 84, 85, 92, 93, 94, 
97, 101, 102, 104, 120, ,129, 133, 137, 156, 204, 
208, 209, 212, 213, 236, 238. 

Graham, J. C, 133. 

Graves, 20, 21, 23, 24, 26, 28, 29, 31, 32, 36, 38, 
42, 43, 46, 1 , 50, 53, 54, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 73, 
74, 75, 84, 85, 87, 89, 90, 92, 93, 94, 95, 97, 102, 
111, 112, 120, 121, 127, 130, 139, 141, 143, 147, 
150, 151, 208, 210, 225, 238, 245, 247, 248, 250, 
259. 

Great Northern Paper Company, 227, 228. 

Greenleaf, Moses, 220, 221 



Grinding tools, 112, 174. 
Ground stone, 181. 
Guernsey, S. J., 223, 236. 



Hamlin, Dr. Augustus C, 34, 38, 74, 107, 125. 
Hammerstones, 34, 67, 85, 93, 97, 133, 149, 156, 162, 

177, 181, 182, 225, 227. 
Handles to tools, 38, 53, 114, 124, 162, 192, 193, 194, 

195, 205. 
Harpoons, 162, 165, 175, 195, 198, 199, 200, 201. 
Hartford Cemetery, 23, 25, 27, 29, 30, 35, 36, 37, 38, 

39, 41, 43, 46, 51, 54, 75, 103, 104, 114, 130. 
Hartford, Capt. Seth N., 23. 
Harts' Falls Cemetery, 74, 75, 86, 121, 127. 
Haskell Cemetery, 67, 74, 75, 81, 107, 108, 110, 114, 

115, 130, 256. 
Hatchets, 26, 84, 93, 97, 107, 108, 115, 124, 133, 149, 

165, 171, 181, 207, 212, 224, 231. 
Hathaway s Cemetery, 31, 33, 50, 51, 54, 66, 67, 68, 

75,87, 97, 111, 120, 130. 
Hematite, 65, 149, 165, 222, 245. 
Heye, Geo. G.. 165. 
Hill, Dr. W. S.. 11. 
Historic burial, 43, 238. 
Hoes, 81, 107, 117. 
Hog Island, 176, 240. 
Holway, Fred J . 21. 
Hoi way site, 21, 131, 260. 
Hooton, Dr. E. A., !). 139, 141. 
Hopewell group, 250. 
Howley, James P., 150. 
Human hones, 46, 49, 64, 67, 100, 133, 137, 139, 141, 

145, 165, 168, 178, 202, 222, 226, 247. 
Hntehings, Jr., William, 9. 
Hutchings, Mr., 74, 90, 91. 

Indian burying ground, 145, 231. 

Indian burial places, 13, 36, 46, 53, 54, 59, 145, 

213, 219, 227. 
Indian rami) sites, 16. 20. 29. 36, 207, 214, 215, 224 

230, 238, 243, 245. 
Indian cellar, 212. 
Indian dance ground, 91. 
Indian dog, 202. 
Indian Fort, 12. 
Indian history, 12, 222. 
Indian Island, 94, 220. 
Indian Place Names, 220, 221. 
Indian times, 21, 34. 
Indians, 16, 20, 31, 34, 36, 46, 50, 53, 90, 92, 94, 97, 

143, 165, 166, 169, 174, 189, 193, 202, 204, 208, 

213, 218, 220-223, 233, 241, 250, 252, 254, 256. 
Indian Village sites, 12, 13, 15, 21, 33, 43, 101, 134, 

163, 208, 213, 214, 219, 222, 224, 226, 231, 240, 

243, 245. 
Indian wars, 12. 



INDEX 



271 



Interior Village sites and other remains, 207. 

Iron axe, 219. 

Iron kettles, 219. 

Iron nodules, 65, 223, 247, 250. 

Iroquois, 189, 250. 

Iroquois League, 250. 

Isle la Motte, 243. 250. 



Mortars, 29. 
Mounds, 26, 
Mount Kineo, 15, 21, 125, 127, 215, 217, 223. 



Narragansett, 259. 
Needles, 193. 



Jasper, 226, 236. 

Jesuits, 214, 219, 225, 234, 243. 

Johnson, George F., 42, 43, 49. 



Katahdin Iron Works, 65, 133, 143, 222, 223. 

Kennebec Unit, 124. 

Kennebec Valley, 213. 

Kidder, Dr. A. V, 9. 

Kineo stone, 97, 112, 145, 215, 227, 228. 

Knives, 137, 145, 156, 165, 182, 183, 184, 185, 188, 

219, 226, 228, 229, 231, 233, 234. 
Knobbed gouge, 109. 



Labrador, 97. 

Lake Alamoosook, 33, 34, 40, 50, 90, 112, 114, 121, 

130, 207, 220, 256. 
Lake Champlain Survey of 1917, 241, 243, 245, 247, 

248, 250, 253. 
Lake Sebec region, 223, 252. 
Lancaster cemetery, 31, 95, 97, 98, 99, 101, 108, 112, 

124, 127, 133. 
Leach's Narrows, 167. 
Leaf -shaped implement, 237. 
Limonite, 141, 1437 
Lucky stones. See pebbles. 
Ludlows' Point shell heap, 168. 



Maguire, J. D., 13, 207, 215, 218. 

Maine Central Railroad, 76. 

Malecite Indians, 234, 236. 

Manning, Francis B., 9, 46, 84, 147. 

Marks, A. E., 9, 15, 21, 34, 120, 130, 193, 207, 2X0, 

227. 
Mason cemetery, 26, 33, 38, 42, 46, 49, 64, 103, 104, 

114, 130, 132. 
Mason, Dr. William, 139. 
Materials used, 28, 49. 
Mattawamkeag rivej.% 224, 226. 
Meductic, 234, 256. 
Merrimac Valley, 12. 
Mills, W. C, 189, 250, 256. 
Moore, Clarence B., 149. 
Moosehead Lake, 13, 15, 33, 213, 215-219, 223, 252, 

254, 256. 
Morrell, Col., 158, 159. 



Objects from Swanton graves, 247. 

Oakland, 101. 

Olamon stream, 220, 221. 

Oldtown, 93. 

Orland, 29. 

Ornaments, 29, 46, 54, 94, 118, 120, 124, 133, 178, 

182, 204, 228, 231, 249. 
Orr, Dr. R. B., 149. 
Ox team, 34. 



Paint, 29, 75. 

Paint grinders, 26, 54, 133. 

Passadumkeag, 50, 75, 87, 97, 120, 130, 218, 221-2. 

Peabody, Dr. Charles, 9, 158. 

Peabody Museum, 84, 102, 103, 124, 127, 130, 133, 

139, 181, 215, 223, 236, 240. 
Pebbles or "Lucky Stones", 26, 28, 49, 54, 67, 85, 

92, 112, 114, 133, 181. 
Pendants, 54, 67, 111, 121, 127, 165, 213, 238. 
Penobscot Indians, 94, 220. 
Penobscot Waters, 219, 220, 228, 242, 251. 
Pequot, 259. 
Perforated objects, 72. 
Perforators, 136, 159, 197, 228. 
Perkins, Charles A., 9, 13. 
Perkins, Prof. George H., 9, 13, 241, 243, 245, 248, 

250. 
Pestles, 181. 
Pierce, Frank, 34, 36. 
Pipe, 162, 165, 178, 180, 205. 
Piscataquis, 222, 223, 244. 
Pittston, 228, 235, 237, 239. 
Plummets, 20, 21, 23, 26, 28, 29, 34, 38, 42, 58, 67, 

75, 76, 84, 85, 92, 94, 97, 108, 111, 113, 115. 116, 

117, 124, 126, 128, 133, 148, 149, 156, 181, 204, 

207, 243. 
Podunk, 259. 
Pottery fragments, 36, 91, 135, 149, 156, 162, 165, 

168, 170, 175, 180, 186, 189, 214, 220, 223, 227, 

228, 229, 236, 238, 240, 243. 
Problematical forms, 38, 46, 54, 63, 67, 94, 111, 117, 

120, 123, 133, 208, 209, 247, 249, 250, 257, 260. 
Projectile points, 105, 106, 112, 159. 
Putnam, F. W. Prof., 13, 125, 186, 207, 240. 
Pyrites, 29, 67, 76, 84, 85, 133, 149, 225. 

Quartzite, translucent, 97, 105, 112. 



272 



M A I N E A R C H A E O LOGY 



Rasles, Father, 213, 252. 

Reasons for villages along coast, 254. 

Red Ocher or paint, 20, 24, 26, 29, 31, 36, 38, 42, 46, 

53, 68, 70, 75, 84, 92, 94, 95, 101, 104, 125, 133, 

141, 149, 222, 223, 236, 238. 
Red Paint culture, 33, 103, 125, 134, 135, 149, 150, 

207, 208, 233, 241, 250, 256. 
Red Paint People, 13, 20, 21, 23, 24, 28, 50, 52, 75, 

87, 103, 108, 111, 125, 133, 134, 143, 145, 149, 150, 

151, 207, 212, 215, 226, 256, 259. 
Red Paint People Cemeteries, 9, 20, 21, 23, 24, 50, 

53, 67, 74, 84, 86, 90, 94, 101, 102, 105, 106, 112, 

125, 127, 152, 154, 156, 213, 222, 223, 226, 240, 

256. 
Red pigment, 49. 

Rejects, 34. i 

Review and Conclusion, 125. 
Rhyolite, 216, 218. 
Ring-like object, 132. 
Ripley, Alfred L., 10. 
Rollins, Montgomery, 208. 
Ropes, Prof. J. H., 10. 
Roster of men, 263, 264. 
Rubbing stones, 28, 92. 93, 156, 181. 

Sand, white, 74. 

Sands one cylinder, 40, 4!). 

Sandstone slabs, 29. 

Sargentville, 145. 

Sawyer, J. ('., 9, 208. 

Scraper. !)4, 137, 139. 1.30, 159, 183. 187, 223. 226, 

228, 229, 230, 240. 
Sebago region, 210. 
Shell heads. 14.5, 147, 202. 247. 
Shell-heaps, 12. 13, 84, 149, 150, 1.32- IS 1, 202, 219, 

240, 241, 252, 2.56, 259. 
Shell object. 156, 162, 17(5. 
Shells, 159, 163, 104, 168, 176, 182 
Skeletons, 28, 43, 49, 121. 14.5, 149, 214, 219, 220, 

236, 247. 
Slabs, 28, 93, 206. 
Slate, 21. 
Slate daggers, 74. 
Slate knife, 210, 211, 212. 
Slate points. 34, 115, 122, 123, 124, 143, 22.5. 
Slate spearheads. 24. 43. 00, 74, 7.5, 77, 79. 81. 99, 

107, 112, 119, 121. 124, 133, 149. 1.50, 238. 
Small pox, 254. 
Smith, Walter B., 9, 74, 07, 103, 112, 11.5, 130, 184- 

143, 222, 223. 2.50. 
Spalls, 34, 175, 177, 207, 215, 227, 231. 
Spears, 21, 28, 81, 92, 97. 130, 143, 1.50, 164, 165, 

183. 190, 215, 218, 220, 243. 
Squier and Davis, 250. 

State University Museum, Columbus, 149. 
St. Croix waters, 230, 238. 
Stearns, Dr. A. E., 9. 



Stevens Cemetery, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 107, 109, 121, 

124, 130, 132, 166, 179. 
Stevens, George, 87. 

St. John Pond or waters, 230, 236, 246, 254, 
Stone needle, 132. 

Stone objects or tools, 165, 167, 180, 214, 220, 225, 
Stone tubes, 247, 248, 250, 255, 259. 
Stover, Mrs. Louise, 162. 
Stover's shell-heap, 157, 162, 163, 165, 177, 181, 182, 

183, 193, 199. 
Stratton, Milton, 76, 84, 107. 
Sugden, Ernest O , 9, 23, 33, 74, 90, 97, 175, 210, 212, 

243, 260. 
Sullivan Falls Cemetery, 76, 82, 83, 84, 107, 114, 

115, 130, 154. 
Sullivan Falls shell-heap, 156, 157, 256. 
Surveys, 16, 18, 19, 21, 101, 152, 213, 215, 219, 224, 

233, 241, 248. 
Swanton site 241, 243, 245, 250, 255, 257, 259. 

Tarrs" Cemetery, 87, 107, 114, 121, 127, 166. 

Taylor, W. W., 90, 95. 

Teeth, 156, 1.57, 192. 

The Weirs, 208, 210. 

Truax, L. B., 243, 245, 248. 

Trustees of P. A„ 9, 13. 

Turtlehacks. 1.59, 17.5, 21.5, 218, 228. 

Unfinished implements and blanks, 1.50, 179, 228, 

239. 
Unknown objects, 20.5. 
Unknown substance, 40. 
1'nworked stones, 133. 

Von Mach, Professor, 166, 109. 

Von Mach's shell-heap, 100. 107. 109. 170, 175, 176, 
177, 183. 184. 18.5, 180. 192, 193, 200. 

Wampum, 202. 

Wardwell's shell-heap, 1.57. 1,58. 179, 181. 183. 

Watervillc, 9.5. 124. 127, 213. 214. 

Wentworth's Cemet ry, 101, 124, 127. 

Wentworth, Charles, 101. 

Whale-like specimen, 108. 

Wheeler, Dr. Geo. A., 11, 166, 168. 

Wheelers Cove shell-heap, 160, 168, 170. 

White, Prof. C. H., 147. 

Wigwams, 163, 180, 214. 220. 231. 

Willoughby. C. C, 9. 13. 26, 28, 34, 30, 90, 100, 102, 

103, 108, 112, 114, 115, 125 130, 145, 149, 150, 

186, 189. 191, 207, 215. 
Wilson, Dr. J. Howard, 170. 
Wilson. Dr. Thomas, 12. 
Winslow, 9.5, 112. 
Wood, 49, 247. 

Young, D. B., 13. 



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